


Magica Cyborg 009

by RoseBloodCat



Category: Cyborg 009, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abused Harry Potter, Albert still getting over Hilda, But she doesn't have feelings for him, Cyborg!Harry, F/M, Harry gets a crush on Albert, Jet likes Francoise, Lots of fluffy moments, M/M, More tags will be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 15:24:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 41,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10856763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseBloodCat/pseuds/RoseBloodCat
Summary: Harry awakes in a strange lab to a strange voice speaking into his mind. Plunged headfirst into a world of death merchants, scientists, and cyborg assassins (that make the dangers of Hogwarts look small time by comparison), how can he survive as Magica Cyborg 009?





	1. The Birth

# Chapter 1: The Birth

Harry’s body felt heavy, like it was being weighed down by an invisible force. He hadn’t felt this tiered and weak since he’d faced a swarm of Dementors intent on attacking himself and Sirius in his third year. He ignored the strange feeling of wrongness about the situation and focused on his struggle to get his mind operational. Why was he so sluggish?

_“Wake up!”_

Whose voice was that? It wasn’t one he was familiar with. The strange feeling strengthened. Merlin, he felt like his mind had been stuffed with cotton.

_“You must wake up!”_

The feeling began pushing against his mind, trying to bring him into awareness. Telling him, alongside the strange voice, that he needed to get up. The feeling was familiar, but he couldn’t place it. What was the last thing he remembered? Wait, the Dementors! Dudley! The strange men who caught him using magic!

_“Wake up!”_

The feeling (instincts, magic!) slammed against his mind, forcing him awake in a manner that the strange voice could never achieve. Energy (his magic) surged through and from him in a near frantic burst, as finally the sheer wrongness (of his body, his clothes, the feel of the place around him) swamped his mind. The sound of a machine short-circuiting under his head launched him to his feet. Machines couldn’t work near magic, he knew that. But he never did know what happened when a machine was unexpectedly exposed to raw magic. It could explode for all he knew. But why was he laying on a machine?

Green eyes flicked about, pausing to peer blurrily at the brightly lit (metal?) room he was in. A hand went to his face, where were his glasses? He needed them! Though things were clearer than he was used to. And his wand! Where was it?

“Where am I? What is this place?” He could hear the distant sound of some form of alarm.

_“Come.”_ Harry jolted, spinning in place. That voice again. Where was it coming from? _“There’s not much time.”_

“Who-Who are you?” He asked, hoping the person would respond.

_“You must get out of there!”_ Harry was jolted from his search for the voice by the sudden blare of what sounded like an emergency alarm, the slam of steel on steel, and a hiss that reminded him of the time the propane stove sprung a leak. _Gas!_

_“Quickly! You have to jump!”_ Green eyes shot upwards, spotting the closing windows (?) far above his head.

“I can’t jump that high!” He squawked. While he was a great seeker, he just didn’t have the athletics for something like that!

_“You must! There’s no time!”_ the voice insisted. Harry made a small growl in the back of his throat.

“Whoever you are, I hope you know what you’re talking about!” He shouted. His legs flexed, and he made an almighty leap, arms held up to protect his head. He felt the glass break as his body moved through it, flipping mid-air and only just landing on his feet thanks to his Quidditch-honed reflexes. He heard a male voice shout for guards to appear. He looked down at his blurry hand in confusion.

“What’s going on? Why is my body so light? I could’ve never made a jump like that before…” He heard a door open behind him. He turned to see three (four?) shapes behind him.

“Don’t move!” Shouted a monotone metallic voice. Were those things robots?! But they were only science fiction! Harry shouted the only thing he could think of that seemed to fit the situation.

“Bloody Hell!” He jolted back, whipping around and taking off at a run. He did not want to find out what those things could do. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite react fast enough. A shout of pain ripped from his throat as what sounded like a machine gun went off and a wave of pain shot up his back. Yet there was no blood that he could feel. Rubber bullets, maybe? He stumbled and fell.

“Target has ceased all movement.” Stated the same metallic voice from before.

Harry grunted, slowly pushing himself up. He braced himself against the wall as he climbed to his feet, he could feel the dents in the wall from where the bullets that had missed him had hit. Okay, so they weren’t rubber. How was he unharmed then?

One of the robots slammed him against the wall, part of it crushing under the force. The robot holding him leaned in close.

“Go back to your room.” It stated blankly. Harry had a sickening flash of when he was younger, and Vernon had held him in a similar position. Instincts and magic roared as one, and Harry ripped apart the hand holding him in place in a fit of panic. He darted past the other hand reaching for him, using his small stature to his advantage to avoid the others as well. Another burst of magic surged from his core, shutting down the robot nearest him and momentarily freezing the others. He desperately wished he had his wand, but ended up punching the next robot that attacked him. Somehow, his normally feeble physical strength punched clean through the robot. It exploded, pieces of it shooting out and destroying the other two robots. Breathing heavy, Harry looked down at his hands again.

“What is this? How can I do this?” He whispered, his voice shaking.

_“Don’t be afraid, these are your powers,”_ said the voice from earlier.

“Powers? What powers? What is going on?!”

_“You will soon find out.”_ Harry gripped his head, stress and fear finally registering.

“Who are you? Where are you talking to me from?”

_“I am 001.”_ the voice, 001 introduced. _“I’m talking to you through a telepathic ability. I’m talking directly into your mind.”_

“001? Telepathy? Into my mind?” Harry asked, forcing himself to calm down. Now was not the time to panic. Panicking was a bad idea, especially when it came to magic. And he could feel how out of balance his magical core was at the moment. And he still needed to figure out where his wand was. He was sure his (sort of) accidental magic would have alerted the ministry by now. Metal clanking drew him back into the present. “Bloody stars, there’s more of them? I need to get out of here.”

_“Go through the entrance in front of you.”_ Harry straightened up, looking to where the robots had first come in from. His eyes narrowed and he nodded, running out the door. He shot around a corner, stopping as a group of robots appeared in front of him. He took a half-step back. _“There’s an air vent above you.”_

Harry looked up, spotting the place 001 was referring to with a touch of difficulty due to his current eye troubles. Smoothly, he leapt up, bursting through the vent in the same manner as the glass ceiling of the room he’d awoken in. Only this time he did so without completely destroying it. He took off down the air duct, listening as the robots filled the path behind him with bullets. The wizard spotted a darker spot on the right side of the duct ahead of him. He dove down it feet first. Memories of the slide into the Chamber of Secrets rose into his mind. He quickly shoved them aside. If 001 could talk to him through his mind, then what stopped the stranger from seeing the memories that surfaced in it?

Instincts blaring, Harry snapped out his hand and caught ahold of a pipe at the end of the shaft, dislodging it from the rest of the piping. Steam shot out of the pipe and the teen could feel the heat under his palms. He stared down at the pipe filled abyss beneath him. An orange-red glow shone far below, but was rising at an alarming pace. That definitely wasn’t good. Harry sucked in a breath between his teeth and could feel his magic reacting to the perceived danger, wrapping itself around his body like a cocoon to protect him from the coming column of fire. The column sent him soaring into the air in helpless freefall. He bounced off the ground. Hard. He let out a groan of pain. At least his magic had made it so that he was left singed instead of being charbroiled.

Standing as he dusted himself off, his attention was caught by the strange and unfamiliar surroundings. The teen quickly realized he had no idea where he was.

“What is this place? Just where the bloody hell have I been taken?” He looked around, his seeker level eyes quickly noticing a swarm of tanks approaching in the distance. “T-tanks? Oh, this day just keeps getting worse!”

_“*Target detected! *”_ a static filled vice shouted in his mind making the British boy flinch and grip his head.

“Again with the voices in my head.” He groaned, trying to fight off the coming migraine. “Is it you again?”

_“No, the radio transmitter inside you isn’t stable yet,”_ said 001. _“So you’re picking up the transmission from those tanks.”_

“I-inside me?”

_“*Target acquired, capture it! *”_

_“They’re talking about you. You’re very popular.”_ Harry almost snarled at him.

“What are you talking about?! They’re going to attack me!” One of the tanks fired, the shot hitting far too close for Harry’s comfort and sending him into the air with a shout. He just barely managed to land on his feet, skidding backwards. “Bloody hell, why do they keep throwing me around like that?”

He hurriedly tried to figure out what to do. He wasn’t a violent person, no matter what the wizarding world had tried to insinuate about him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to fight. With Dudley for a cousin, it pretty much came with the territory. A machine gun went off from one of the tanks, and from there the fight was a flurry of bullets, crushing metal, and explosions. The only things on the young wizard’s mind were to fight and to survive. It was only when he spotted people scrambling out of one of the tanks that he paused.

“There were people inside?” he asked, a touch of surprise in his tone. He winced as a bullet hit the side of his head. He turned to the top of the tank, where shaky soldier had him at gun point.

“Mo-monster!” Harry frowned at him, not even noticing that the man wasn’t speaking English.

“Oh, bugger off! I didn’t know there were people in there!” He snapped, making the soldier jump in fright. He was far too used to being under pressure for the gun to really bother him. Besides he was, apparently, bullet proof. “With all the robots I thought these would be automatic too…” The man gasped, then darted out of the tank, which suddenly had two holes in it before exploding. Harry swore colorfully as he was blasted off, rolling arse over tea-kettle across the ground. Green eyes flicked upwards.

Standing on the stone ridge above were more soldiers, holding some form of long range weapons (rocket launchers?).

“Bloody Merlin, they’re shooting at their own men! I thought only…” he shoved those thoughts aside, not wanting 001 to catch a glimpse of them. Magic was kept a secret for a reason. Nervously, he stepped back. He knew he seemed bullet proof right now, but he wasn’t sure how he’d hold up against a rocket explosion. He stepped back, and felt rocks crumbling beneath his feet. Eyes widening slightly, he looked behind him. Bugger, they’d backed him against a cliff. Were they near an ocean?

His mind pulled up an image of the black lake. The water looked about as deep as the lake by the school cliffs. His jaw set. He’d have to take the chance. He spun in place and took the dive. If he died, then, well, he wouldn’t think about it. He squeezed his eyes shut waiting for when he’d hit the water. The world was muffled as he was submerged in the sea. Practice from flying allowed him to quickly figure out which way was up and where the surface was. His head broke the through the surface with a gasp. He looked around. He needed to figure out where to go from there. Further thoughts were, unfortunately, banished when he felt a set of jaws slam shut on his waist, yanking him under.

_C-can’t breathe!_ He thought frantically. He struggled in the jaws, trying to get free without losing his breath, but was startled into gasping when the jaws tightened around him. Strangely, though he could feel the water entering his body, he didn’t feel like he was drowning. _Wait a minute, I CAN breathe. What the heck is going on?_ One eye opened to look at his strange captor. He knew that, for some reason, he was drastically far sighted at the moment (as opposed to being nearly blind) but he was sure he’d at least be able to make out what was attacking him. Another gasp escaped him.

_I’m being attacked by a shark?! How am I not dead yet?!_ To Harry’s luck, he remembered a television show his cousin had been watching. The announcers had said shark eyes were extremely sensitive, and hitting them could get them to release a person even if they were in a frenzy. He reeled a fist back and slammed it into the shark’s eye. He felt something break beneath his fist, and something like metal.

_Another bloody robot?! How many of them ARE there?_ Harry thought furiously. He wrenched himself free and tried swimming away. He had to figure out how to escape! A missile from the sharkbot hit him sending spiraling off course in his bid for the surface. He gritted his teeth, mentally prepping for an underwater battle, only for something or someone else to defeat his attacker. A flash of light entered his vision, then the sharkbot was destroyed in an underwater explosion. Harry squinted through the oil left in the water.

_A… A person?_ He wondered. He tried to see them more clearly, but lost sight of them. He shook his head and searched for the coast line. _Which way do I go?_

_“To your left, the beach is that way.”_ Harry let out a relieved sighed, which showed as a stream of bubbles escaping his mouth. That was much better than trying to guess which way to go. He swooped to his left. He really hoped this 001 person wasn’t just stringing him along. After being pushed into a rock by the tide (which, to Harry’s usual luck and dismay, was coming in), Harry hauled himself onto the shore with a sigh.

“What’s going on? What is this?” He asked no one in particular. “Why do I have these powers all of a sudden?”

_“If I explained everything, you would only be more confused. If you do what I tell you, you’ll find your answer at the end.”_

“Fine. But you better have some good answers when I find you.”

_“Understood, climb the cliff in front of you.”_ Harry looked up at the mass of brown ahead.

“Wonderful,” he grumbled, before sighing. “Better get climbing then. Who knows when those people will show up again.”

As it turned out, they showed up about halfway through his climb. In a pair of planes with a set of machine guns attached. Harry swore again as the rock under his fingers crumble and he fell back to the sandy beach. He lay there for a few moments, panting.

“Why? Why is it that, even when I follow your instructions to the letter, I just keep bumping into the enemy.”

_“Sorry, but I picked this route specifically so you’d have to face the enemy. I want to see more of your powers.”_ Harry stiffened at that. The teen snarled.

“Stop fooling around! Come out and show yourself!” He jolted at the sound of the approaching planes. He’d nearly forgotten them. They open fired on him, forcing him to dodge to the best of his ability. “When I finally meet you, I’ll punch your lights out!”

_“I don’t think you’ll want to hit me. Watch out! In front of you!”_ Harry looked up to see the two planes banking in mid-air. Clearly intent on getting him. _“Press the switch on your back tooth.”_

“Switch?” Harry flicked his tongue back to feel what 001 was talking about. The planes started firing at him again.

_“Press it!”_ Gritting his teeth together, he pressed on the switch in his back right molar. And the world slowed to a crawl. Harry’s eyes widened in shock.

“What-what is this?” He looked up at the planes. It was like the world had been set into slow motion.

_“Your Acceleration Mode. Right now the area around you cannot keep up with your speed.”_ Thoroughly shaken, Harry asked,

“Great, now how do I turn it off?!” As soon as he finished saying that, the world returned to normal speed and he was slammed into by one of the plane wings. He instinctively clung to it as the plane took off with its’ new, unwilling passenger. He adjusted his weight and started climbing towards the cockpit. He hoped he could talk the piolet into landing before he got them BOTH killed. This plan was quickly discarded when he found that the plane didn’t have a piolet, meaning it had some kind of auto-piolet feature. Or it was one of those drone planes he’d heard about on the news.

“Oh bugger. What do the red lights mean?” He muttered. He got his answer when he looked ahead. The two planes were going to collide. “Bloody stars! I need to stop answering my own questions!” He jumped off the plane, not wanting to be caught in the coming explosion. He twisted mid-air hoping that his body and his magic would be strong enough to survive the landing. Before he could formulate a method to use his magic to help him, an unfamiliar arm grabbed ahold of him, wrenching him sideways. Harry quickly realized that, somehow, the person who saved him was flying. Under their own power. He twisted slightly, trying to see who’d caught him.

“Careful there, you’ll fall if you make me lose my grip.” The blurred person said to him. The only things Harry could really pick out about them was that they were male, had red hair, and an oddly beak-like nose. While the man was speaking English, Harry was pretty sure it wasn’t British English. “But if you want to fall, just say so. Any place in particular?” Harry shook his head with a muttered “no thanks”.

“Something tells me you’re not 001, are you?” His voice was too deep to belong to the person who’d been talking into the young wizard’s head. Harry had the feeling the red head smiled at him.

“Got that right, I’m 002.”

“002?”

“Don’t call me by my number.” Harry blinked at him, opening his mouth to ask what the red-head wanted the teen to call him then, but was cut off before he could ask. “Let’s go then.” Harry bit back a yelp as they sped up. He turned his head to look in the direction 002 (since he didn’t know what else to call him) was flying. There was an island far below them that the flying person seemed to be heading for. He couldn’t hold back the small smile that wormed its way onto his face. He always did love flying, though he would have preferred something a little more under his control. But it was still nice.

“I take it we’re headed for the island?”

“Yup, the others are expecting us.”

“Others?”

002 swooped low, dropping Harry before landing himself. Not expecting it, the brit stumbled, bumping into someone much taller than him. The tall person was kind enough to catch him before he fell on his face, and neatly set him back on his feet. Harry (who was just barely average height) couldn’t help feeling dwarfed by the giant dark skinned man. But Harry was pretty sure the man wasn’t as tall as Hagrid. Harry swept his gaze over the group around him, a small part of him was thankful that they all seemed to have vastly different appearances, even to his blurry eyes.

“Who are you people?”

“Looks like a friend.” Said one of the people standing on the ridge. He had a mostly skin colored head, leading Harry to believe he was bald. He also had a far more familiar accent. Definitely a London one.

“Seems like you’re right. Are we lucky or unlucky?” asked the person nearest the bald man. He was the only person white hair and a light complexion, and an accent Harry couldn’t quite place. German perhaps?

“Friend?” Harry asked, genuinely confused by the response given.

_“We all have powers, like you.”_ Said 001’s voice. The girl (he was pretty sure she was a girl) with blonde hair, hopped down, carefully approaching him. In her arms was a small blur of blue-grey hair and what looked almost like a bib. A baby? His eyes widened.

“It couldn’t be- Are you-?”

_“Yes, I’m 001.”_ The baby, now identified as 001, answered. _“You don’t still feel like punching my lights out, do you?”_ Harry bent closer, an unimpressed frown on his face.

“Not really, but spanking you seems rather appealing.” He was rewarded with a small “Erk!” from the child, and muffled snickers from various members of the group. The girls’ head suddenly shot up. Harry quickly turned, wondering if she’d seen something in the distance.

“Are they coming again, 003?” Asked 002. The girl, 003 he assumed, was quiet for a moment.

“Robot military. There are many of them over the mountains.” She stated calmly. Harry let out an impressed whistle.

“Wow, you can see beyond the mountains?” Harry asked, sounding as impressed as he felt. He’d only ever dreamed of seeing that well. But she seemed unhappy about it. The grey haired man stepped forward, getting down on one knee. For some reason his knee made a strange clanking noise and suddenly there was a patch of grey and red between his red of his pants and the black of his boot.

“Guess we strike first. 003, guide me.” Harry squinted slightly, still trying to figure out what the man planned to do. He glanced at Harry. “This ain’t for showing off.”

“Ready? Wards 20 o’clock, up 37 degrees.” Harry watched the man shift, then two missiles (rockets?!) shot from his knew. Green eyes easily tracked their flight pattern over the mountain, watching the debris cloud kicked up from the collision as it rose over the mountain. 003 spoke up again.

“Behind them, there are tanks coming.” 

_Great. Just what I need. More tanks shooting at me._ Harry thought in frustration, a frown settling on his face. Feeling out of place, Harry just listened as they spoke. Clearly they knew more about what was happening than he did.

“Are there people inside?” asked 002.

“Yes.”

“They don’t get tired, do they?” asked a short, stout looking man (with yet another accent Harry didn’t recognize). Another dark skinned man, with oddly light short hair, spoke up.

“The airport is in that direction, right?”

“Guess we’re heading on.” Said the man who, apparently, could fire missiles from his legs. The previous speaker sighed.

“There’s never an end.” Harry watched as the rest of the men in the group (not counting 001) pull a strange, silver thing from their belts. Guns of some kind? Harry looked back to where the tanks were. Once again he wished he had his wand as the rounds from the tanks soared through the air, right at their ragtag group. Stomping down on the urge to shout _“pretago maxima!”_ at the top of his lungs, the wizard watched his companions (?) shoot down the missile-like rounds both destroying them and detonating them early. More tank shots burst through the cloud of smoke and Harry’s right arm started lifting. Even if he got in trouble for using magic in front of muggles, he couldn’t just sit back and let them die! It just wasn’t in his nature!

He was stopped from revealing himself when 001 created a barrier of his own to protect the group. 002 took off into the air, still holding his gun. Harry watched in amazement as the redhead expertly flew through the air, using his weapon to shoot out the treads of the tanks as he flew by them with the grace and accuracy of a bird of prey. Harry couldn’t help comparing him to a red-tailed hawk. Merlin, he’d only dreamed of being able to fly as freely and gracefully as that, and now he’d met someone who actually could! And he was a muggle no less! Sometimes, life just wasn’t fair.

The silver haired man fired off another rocket from one of his legs, destroying more tanks by causing a rock outcropping to collapse atop of them. The large rocks easily crushed the metal beneath them. The man’s expression was controlled and calm, with a focused frown set firmly in place. It took all his self-control to not gape when the man started shooting bullets (honest to Circe bullets!) from the fingers of his right hand at the robots advancing towards him. It seemed that, unlike what Harry had first thought, he was not wearing some kind of glove, but in fact had some kind of metal prostatic.

The teen watched with wide eyes as the large man who’d stopped him from falling on his face earlier ripped the top off of a tank, with the soldiers hanging helplessly from it after attempting to keep each other from being lifted. The man then tossed them aside, far enough to daze them, but not enough to hurt them. Harry watched him stop another tank as it tried to run him over, lifted the steel vehicle over his head, then pitched it a good thirty meters. While not as flashy as the other two fighters, it was an impressive display in its own right.

“Whoa.”

_“That’s 005. He has a body of steel and the strength of 1,000 people.”_ 001 said calmly, not needing to point out who he meant to Harry.

“Remind me to never get on his bad side.” Harry muttered. _Wow, and I thought Hagrid was strong…_ He idly wondered if the man was half-giant like Hagrid. It would certainly explain a lot.

“Seems like it’s my turn.” Harry looked back at the pudgy man who’d spoken as he blew out a stream of fire and dove into the ground.

_“006- Nicknamed the mole. He can breathe out fire as hot as 3,000 degrees and can melt anything.”_ Harry watched as 006’s flames made the ground under the tanks so unstable that not only did it crumble beneath them, but fire shot up out of every crack beneath the tanks. 006 popped out of the ground and laughed something the green eyed boy couldn’t hear, only for the small rock he was standing on to give out under his feet. So much for the “cool guy” pose he’d struck.

The bald man leaned out of a rock and knock out three soldiers with a metal hammer, before the rock actually molded into his body. He tapped his bellybutton and turned into a kangaroo as 001 spoke up once more. Harry knew about animagi, but he’d never heard of a person who could turn themselves into an object without a wand!

_“007, by pressing the switch on his bellybutton, he can transform into anything.”_ Harry watched 007 as he hopped up onto the nearest tank, popped open the lid, pulled a bomb from his pouch, and dropped it inside. Harry had no idea where he’d gotten the bomb from, or how he’d put it in his pouch, and he was pretty sure he didn’t want to know. Four more robot soldiers were shot down by the dark (nearly black) skinned man. He smoothly ran into the opposing numbers, taking down enemies with an efficiency that would have made any Auror worth his gallions proud.

_“008, professional fighter. Although he’s at his best under water, where he can breathe and swim like a fish.”_ Harry had a flash back of the man he’d seen in the water who’d taken out the Sharkbot for him.

“So that was him I saw earlier…” he murmured. He watched 002 swoop low and ensnare a small group of soldiers with a decent sized length of rope. Before he easily lifted the group and dropped them with the other captured soldiers.

_“002, with his jet engine powered boots he can fly anywhere.”_ 001 stated, though it wasn’t really necessary, as the older male had already (sort of) introduced himself to Harry.

Harry watched as the bound up soldiers were all dropped in the same place. Harry, while still nervous of letting the men go, was glad none of them had been killed. Even after everything he’d been through, death still didn’t sit well with him.

_“That’s right, we prefer to not take people’s lives.”_ 001 said, his mental voice calm. Harry looked at him, a flicker of surprise on his face. _“I can easily tell what’s going on in your confused mind, but I want you to come with us.”_ Harry’s eyes trailed up to 003’s face, or where he was pretty sure it was.

“I want you to trust us.” She said, her voice soft but firm. Harry blinked at her. He wasn’t used to people asking for his trust. Usually they would just demand it from him, along with his respect. This was… Different, but not unwelcome. 003 jolted, hurriedly looking back at the destroyed tanks. She shouted in a panicked tone, “Watch out!”

Numerous compartments on the destroyed tanks opened, releasing strange metal disks with eyes and tentacles spinning into the air. Harry took a half step back, his instincts telling him that these objects were far more dangerous than they looked. This was confirmed when they latched onto various members of the group, and 003 shouted that the disks had some form of stinger that could paralyze them. Harry, while nervous, wasn’t too surprised by that. Harry hit the switch in his mouth when he saw some of the disks heading for 003 and 001. What scummy piece of dung would attack an unarmed woman and a baby?! He wouldn’t stand for it!

He shot forward, intent on smashing as many of the devices as possible. Each disk easily crumbled under his punches and kicks as he darted around the group. When his Acceleration mode timed out, the others seemed surprised by the sudden loss of attackers. Though once they spotted his change in position compared to them, they quickly figured out who had gotten rid of them. 

“Amazing,” breathed 007. He heard the grey haired one speak up.

“He’s farther along than we thought.” Harry wasn’t sure what he meant, but he hoped that was some form of compliment.

“Watch out! There’s more of them!” 003 shouted, leaping closer. Harry looked back, seeing more of the disks being sent into the sky.

“Bloody hell, why can’t things ever be easy?” He groused, as they started forming some sort of snake-worm creature that towered over the group. Harry felt his hackles rising as he looked at the things’ single, unblinking eye.

“Be careful!” called 003, though as far as Harry was concerned, the warning wasn’t really needed. The creature started firing lasers from its tentacles, forcing the young wizard to dive into a forward roll to escape. His attention was quickly caught by the shouts of pain and surprise from the other fighters. He turned to see that they’d been hoisted into the air by the robot, which seemed to be trying to crush them in its iron grip.

“Use this!” the silver haired man shouted in a strained voice, as he freed enough of his arm to throw his gun to Harry. The green eyed teen barely caught it. He bit back a curse. Somehow he knew how to use the weapon, but with how far-sighted he was at the moment, he could barely see the darn thing! He quickly checked the buttons. To his relief, each one was a different color, which let him tell them apart. He hit the red button, setting it to ray-gun mode. Now, to figure out how to take that thing out.

He fired a preliminary shot. He needed to test a theory about the thing. The creature broke apart, but its pieces flew around Harry and reformed behind him. The rest of the group (minus Harry, 003 and 001) were still trapped, and looking a tad queasy from how quickly the disks had been spinning through the air. He gritted his teeth. It seemed he was right. While he knew he was strong enough to break the segments, he was pretty sure they would just reassemble themselves with the surviving disks each time he attacked. He needed a way to kill the power for all of them without using magic…

_“Before it combines, aim for the fourth sphere’s connector.”_ Came 001’s voice. He looked back at the other two, uncaptured people. 003 was giving him a determined stare.

“For a second the joints are released. That’s where the heart is.” Harry nodded giving her a smile.

“I understand. Thanks.” She seemed surprised by him saying that, but he didn’t pay too much attention to that. He quickly turned and fired a second shot from the ray gun which made the robot split apart again. His eyes tracked the movement of the disks, counting the segments as they assembled. Without speaking, he switched on his acceleration mode. It was time to put his seeker skills to good use. Still keeping his distance (mostly so he could see the blasted thing) he easily got into position, and fired right through the opening between the joints. The core made a fabulous explosion sending people and pieces flying in every direction. The fragments fell apart once the control unit (which must’ve been with the heart) was destroyed. There was a moment of silence, and Harry turned back to the group.

“Is everyone alright?” he asked, his voice clear and calm, his far too kind heart kicking in again. Noises of confirmation rang throughout the group (some more reluctant than others), earning a pleased smile from the black haired boy. “Good. Now then, I just have just one question to ask.” He was sure they were all staring at him, wondering what he wanted to know.

“Would somebody please explain to me what the _bloody hell is going on here?!”_

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

During the far too long run through the heat of the desert-like area around them to get to the “airport”, Harry finally got the answers he’d been looking for out of the group. It seemed him blowing his top at them had made them remember that he was basically coming in blind. And, after a bit of pestering and picking at various members of the group, they’d finally explained the basics of what was going on to him.

Apparently he had been made into a cyborg, a half human and half robot hybrid. His number was 009 and the rest of the group were the cyborgs made before him, numbering 1 through 8. The silver haired man, who was finally introduced to him as 004 and was essentially a walking artillery, had told him that they were all pretty much kidnapped off the streets from various places in the world. The only thing consistent about the abductions was that, for one reason or another, the group that took them made sure that they weren’t going to be missed if they disappeared. Harry would have said that he would’ve been missed, but then he remembered the “cover story” his relatives gave for why he disappeared every year. With that kind of reputation, it was pretty easy to understand why he’d been taken.

This also confirmed that none of these people knew about magic, as no one who wanted to remain hidden would’ve abducted the “Boy-who-Lived” (even with the Daily Prophet’s smear campaign), and if the other cyborgs knew they would’ve recognized him by now. Though he wouldn’t be surprised if his captors now had an inkling that he possessed magic, even if they didn’t know that was what it was. He really hoped they hadn’t destroyed his wand, or something.

Now he and his fellow cyborgs were trudging through a water-logged series of cave tunnels (which really reminded Harry of the trek to the Chamber of Secrets, but with more water and less stink) to steal an enemy plane for their escape. He mostly stayed near the back of the group since he really didn’t know much about what they were doing and, as such, felt it was a better idea to let them take the lead. The tunnels felt old and completely natural, which meant that they hadn’t been made by the enemy and, as such, there were no booby traps waiting for them. They probably only used it as an emergency escape route for the scientists, which was good for the rebelling cyborgs. The only thing that really bugged Harry about the trek was how much noise their splashing footsteps made. If they had robots doing patrols down there, the group would be sitting ducks. 002, who was leading them, stopped.

“We’re here.”

“Wait, brute force will only set off the alarms,” 007 murmured, stopping 005 from stepping forward. Harry watched the adult shrink himself down to some form of small animal (a mouse? So long as it wasn’t a rat, Harry honestly didn’t care). “I hope there are no cats up there!” And with that he skittered up what seemed to be a metal ladder. There was an odd feeling coiling in his stomach. He frowned, his attention turning inward, trying to decipher the feeling. Without his sight and his magic, he had to rely on his instincts, his remaining senses, and his strange new powers for help and protection.

“Hey, 009. 009?” Harry snapped back to reality, blinking at the red clothes in front of him, before his eyes trailed up to the silver haired person wearing them. It must be 004, he was the only one with silver hair. Oh, right, duh. 009 was his latest nickname, wasn’t it? “You alright, 009?”

“Huh? O-oh, yes. Yes, I’m fine. Just got lost in thought, that’s all. Sorry ‘bout that.” Harry said, before adding in an awkward mutter, “Still need to get used to the new nickname though.” _As if I need any more alternate names._ He couldn’t see the older man’s expression, but he was pretty sure he believed him. Though he probably thought that Harry wasn’t giving him all the details.

“Right… 007 got the trap door open, so we need to get moving. C’mon.” Harry nodded and followed after 004. He was sure that if he hadn’t seen 004 climbing the ladder he would have ended up walking into it. In fact, he nearly did, but he was able to pass it off as him losing his footing due to the wet floor. The wizard’s discomfort only increased as the crept through the halls an encountered almost no resistance.

“Something’s not right” said 004. “There are no guards.”

“Did they run away?” asked 006.

Harry’s gut twisted uncomfortably as 003 gave them instructions on where to go next. Where were the guards? Shouldn’t there be patrols if this was an important place? There’s no way the people attacking them would just run away. With all the fighting on their way to the “airport” the enemy should have figured out where they were headed by now. This reeked of a set up.

Or maybe the Fake-Moody’s paranoia really had rubbed off on him in fourth year. Then again, it wasn’t paranoia if people really were out to get you. Constant vigilance had been his motto after all. Or had that been the real Moody’s motto? He wasn’t sure, he technically never met the real Moody.

He followed after 004, staying within arms’ reach of the older male. He would have hovered near 003, as she didn’t seem to have much in the way of combat skills (not to mention that she had her arms full carrying 001 around), but the rest of the group was already bracketing her from any potential threats. And, as the saying went, too many cooks ruined the soup. From what he’d seen earlier, 004 was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, so he would probably do a better job of holding off attackers than the others. And Harry, as much as he disliked it, needed all the protection he could get at the moment. Because of his eyesight, he couldn’t do a very good job of protecting himself if the enemy got the jump on him.

Harry still hadn’t come clean about his eye troubles, but that would have to wait until the group was no longer in danger. And maybe until he was near a place where he could get new glasses.

The wizard watched as 008 carefully opened a door and made a sign to rest of the group. He assumed that it meant the coast was clear since everyone began to file through. The twisting, anxious feeling in his gut became worse with each passing second. 002 pointed towards a seaplane docked in the water bay ahead of them.

“That’s it,” said the red-head, pleased smirk settling in place. “Looks operational. Let’s move.” They barely got five steps in before Harry’s intuition screamed at him. The small teen launched forwards, seized 002’s arm (ignoring his surprised shout), and wrenched them both back just before a heavy, steel wall slammed down where 002 had been standing moments before. A second slam alerted them to a second wall closing behind them, sealing the group in.

“You okay?” Harry asked 002. The red-head shook off his arm and concern with a clipped “I’m fine.” and stood up from where they’d landed on the floor. Harry, who’d always had heightened senses thanks to his bad eyesight, noted there was faint quiver to his voice. Obviously he’d been shaken by the incident, but was trying to play it off.

“Damn!” 002 cursed, pushing at the first wall. “They set a trap for us!” 005 reeled his fist back and punched the wall, but it did nothing to damage it. Obviously, strength wasn’t the way to go.

“Stand back 005,” said 008. He opened fired with his pistol, but the shot merely ricocheted throughout the room. Harry cursed as it zipped past his face. It seemed their weapons didn’t work either. 006 pushed his way in front.

“Let’s try this then,” he said. He took a deep breath, then breathed out a column of fire at the first wall. This did nothing beyond winding the man. “Hmm, it didn’t work.” Harry could feel his unbalanced magic responding to his faint distress. Yes, he could put up with being in a small, enclosed space, but only if he knew he had a way of getting out. He took a few, slow, deep breaths to reign in his whirling magic. He did not need to have another burst of uncontrolled magic. Any more of them and he’d probably exhaust his core.

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin as a strange voice started laughing.

“Of course it didn’t work.” Said a harsh voice. The wall lights went out, plunging the cyborgs into darkness. Near blinding, white lights were switched on above them, causing many to flinch and try to shade their eyes. Harry spent a moment blinking he spots out of his eyes before trying to focus on where the voice had come from. Standing on the transparent ceiling/floor above the cyborgs was a small group of sunglass and lab coat wearing scientists. Harry found his eyes being drawn to two scientists in specific. A particularly unpleasant scientist with messy hair and far too prominent lips spoke. “The limits of your abilities have been programmed into the system.”

“Damn, you guys tricked us.”

“Go back to the laboratory right away, we still need more data.” Ordered the scientist next to Big lips (as Harry mentally dubbed him). His hair was white, his nose was large, and he was a tad on the chubby side, but he didn’t bother Harry as much as the other man. Harry couldn’t help noticing that the man’s words sounded oddly forced.

“What?!” snapped 008. “We’re not robots!”

“Your rebellion should stop at once, this is not the reason we gave you powers,” said the first scientist, his lips curved in an unpleasant smile. Harry bristled at the man. He did not like the way the man was looking at him.

“Gave?” 004 asked, his tone harsh. “So you’re saying we should be thankful for this?”

“Do you think we wanted to have bodies like this?!” 003 said loudly, just shy of shouting. “And getting reconstructed like this?” Harry’s stomach clenched at that. He still had trouble wrapping his mind around that. He really hoped these “Black Ghost” people had a wretched time working on him because of his magic. Big lips chuckled.

“They are wonderful powers. Powers exceeding the human strength. Science defe- “He froze as a voice cut in with a sharp “Enough”. Harry’s attention was returned to the other scientist, who was now being held at gunpoint by one of his colleagues. “You’re with the cyborgs?” The “traitor” smiled, then revealed himself as 007. Harry had forgotten he wasn’t with them, but was definitely glad the older man had decided to take a different route than them.

“I’m not just with them, I’m part of the inner circle!” 007 said cheerfully. Big nose tried to sneak up on the morphing cyborg, but was quickly brought to gun point as well. “I’d suggest you let my friends go, or you’ll be breathing through a third nostril.”

“Ah, is now soon enough?” He said nervously. Holding the man hostage, 007 was able to rejoin the group with little fuss. The ten calmly walked towards the plane, carefully ignoring the soldiers lining up along the walls.

“Don’t fire! The cyborgs know the self-destruct code of the base! If I die they’ll destroy this place. I’m the only one who knows the abort code.” He watched the others boarding the plane, and quietly followed after them. Until 003 stopped at least.

_“This is your only chance to back out,”_ said 001 from her arms. _“Once you get on that plane there’s no going back.”_

“Will you come with us?” 003 asked. Harry started chuckling.

“Y’know, this is a lousy time to ask that. You’re pretty much giving me an all or nothing choice here. If I go, I’ll be a fugitive; If I stay, I’ll be a lab experiment.” He started walking forward, an almost lazy smile on his face. He dutifully ignored any look on the woman’s face. It wasn’t like he could see it anyways. “Either way, I’m in big trouble! I might as well go with the one choice that’ll keep me from being alone, right?”

Harry slipped past the others who’d stopped in the entrance of the plane to hear his response. Managing to find the cockpit after a touch of trial an error (and after trying a trick he’d once read a blind wizard had used to get around safely. Think sonar only with pulses of magic instead of radio waves. It was surprisingly effective for something that only required will and not spell work. He still bumped into the ladder the first few times he was experimenting with it, and the grey, washed-out world was something he’d need to get used to.)

Settling in a chair at the back, Harry listened as the engine of the plane shifted to a roar as the vehicle started moving. Curiosity winning out, he shifted the seat closer to the window and watched as it took to the air, land and sea falling away as they took off. He looked over to where 004 stood.

He carefully stood, wandering over to where the man stood, holding out the gun he’d lent Harry.

“I think I should return this.” He said softly. He made a discrete pulse, mapping out the older man’s face in his mind. The man tilted his head slightly, a small smile being caught by the pulse.

“Thanks, but you can keep that.” Harry blinked, and the man raised his right hand. Wordlessly reminding him that said hand was a weapon. The green eyed boy let out a soft “oh”. Before hesitantly attaching the weapon back on his belt.

003 approached him, and he practiced the pulse once more. Mapping her face and the face of 001, who held a hand out to him. Harry paused, and carefully held out a finger for 001 to grasp.

“Glad to have you, 009.” Harry gave him a weary smile.

“And now that you do, don’t expect losing me to be an easy thing.” _I just hope the Potter Luck won’t kick in anytime soon._


	2. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The initial escape from Black Ghost seems to've got off without a hitch, but Harry has no time to worry about what's going on in England as the Cyborgs and Dr. Gilmore begin phase two of their plan to prevent Black Ghost from continuing after them.
> 
> Worry for his magic and how it will now effect his Half-machine body constantly prodding at the back of his mind, Harry has no choice but to plow forward and hope that the Potter Luck continues to hold out.

**Chapter 2: The Escape**

_‘Cedric! Run! Get away!’ Harry watched helplessly as his classmate (friend, confident, role model) was struck by a flash of green light, the life fading from his blue eyes. The older teen fell to the graveyard floor, dead. ‘No!!’ Voldemort laughed cruelly somewhere in the distance._

_“It’s your fault, Potter. He died because he was unlucky enough to come here with you.” Laughed the cruel, high pitched voice, its words cutting deeply into Harry’s heart._

_**“009?”** _

_‘No! I-it’s not!’ Harry cried, voice trembling._

_“Don’t lie to yourself Potter. If you hadn’t insisted on both of you taking the cup, he’d have never come. He’d have never died.”_

_**“009! Wake up!”** _

_‘No, it’s not my fault! I-I didn’t know this would happen!’_

_‘IT’S NOT MY FAULT!!’_

.

.

Harry jolted awake with a gasp, his head hitting something hard as he fell on his side. He heard an unfamiliar language above him. He wasn’t sure what was being said, but it sounded like someone cursing. He blinked dazedly up at them. Where was he? What happened?

Oh, right. The cyborgs, Black Ghost, his messed up eyesight, his lack of a wand. Now he remembered. He’d slipped away not long after their initial escape to get some shut eye and to let his magical core recover from the recent strain (he had no idea how much power he’d actually used, but it was better to be on the safe side). He’d picked the cargo hold as a good place to nap in private, but still be found if he was needed. A hand rested on his shoulder, bringing Harry’s eyes to the colorful blur kneeling over him.

_Pulse._

The features belonging to 004 came into focus, his worried expression all too clear.

“Damn, 009, are you alright?” he asked. Harry rubbed at his eyes, knowing there had to be tears coming from them.

“I- Yeah, I’m fine. It was- It was just a bad dream. That’s all.” He said, the words having a hollow ring to them. He’d said that too many times, to too many people. He just couldn’t find the energy to do more than that. 004’s grip on his arm tightened.

“That sure as heck didn’t seem like a bad dream to me.” He said sharply. Harry waved him off, slowly sitting up.

“I’m fine! Really. I have dreams like that way too often for it too really bother me anymore.” Another pulse showed the disbelieving expression on the older male’s face.

“That’s normal for you?” The teen decided to change the topic.

“Why did you come looking for me? Am I needed for something?” He was sure the silver haired man was frowning at him, but decided to let him go.

“Sort of, we’re all gathering in the cockpit since we’re getting close to our destination.” Harry nodded and stood.

“Alright, best not keep everyone waiting.” Though he didn’t react to it, he could feel the assessing gaze burning against his back. He didn’t want to explain. Not yet. Though they may be working together, he still wasn’t sure he could trust the other cyborgs with the existence of magic, and all the goods and evils that were part of it. Using a mix of his limited sight and magical pulses, he was able to pretend he could see just fine and entered cockpit without any trouble. 004 followed close behind, but Harry was sure the man thought something was up. Even if he had no idea what.

The two walked in to see 007 giving a mini performance of the “abducted” scientist, humorously stating that he would have never made it on London’s West End. Sadly, though he knew where that was, Harry had no idea if 007 was right or not. The Doctor (who’d introduced himself as Dr. Isaac Gilmore to Harry earlier) removed his glasses and gave the group a sheepish smile.

“I thought my acting was quite memorable.” Harry chuckled.

“For an amateur? Yes, you were pretty good. But a professional? Not a chance.” He stated, a smile in place. He was far too used to hiding the days he had nightmares. Not even Hermione could tell unless he’d told her otherwise. Oddly enough, the Weasley twins were never fooled, and often went out of their way to make him laugh on those days. Dr. Gilmore smiled, probably thinking Harry was complimenting him. “Though I can think of a few mates from school who still coulda’ done better than you.” _Like the Weasley twins for example._

Amused snorts and snickers echoed around him, and the doctor seemed to deflate before joining the laughter. He knew he was being a tad silly, but without the Weasley twins nearby, he’d have to find his own way of making himself feel better.

Harry looked up, the hair on his neck standing up. He could feel his instinct warning him of a coming danger. A few seconds later, an alarm went off. 004 tsked.

“There’s no possibility they’d just let us leave, right?” He said. The doctor nodded.

“Right. There should be small fighters in the cargo hold, you and 009 should have the knowledge needed to use them.” 004 nodded.

“Got it. C’mon 009.” He said, snagging the young teen’s arm and dragging him to the door. Harry only just realized what was happening.

“Wait, we’re doing what?!”

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

A few minutes, and a decent amount of nervous jittering later, Harry found himself inside a small plane. It was only just big enough for one person, and the only way to use it was to lay down in it. Harry knew he’d have to hold his magic pulse in order to use it (Something he really hadn’t tried yet), as his near sightedness prevented him from seeing the numerous buttons, switches, and leavers he somehow knew he needed. He felt as nervous as when he was first learning how to fly, but without the adult there to catch him and with a lot more danger. He swallowed nervously.

_Pulse and hold._

The control panels appeared before him and he quietly started counting until his capsule-like plane was dropped from the carrier. He felt the plane be released. He counted back from ten, knowing that by the time he reached one, he’d be far enough away to safely open the wings of the craft.

“009, you’re diving!” Came 004’s slightly anxious voice over the inner radio. Harry closed his eyes for a moment, then yanked back the control handle, preforming a stunt eerily similar to a Worski feint. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding

“I’m okay, sorry for the scare.” He murmured. He knew 004 had been worried, so it was only right to apologize. Like when he woke his dorm mates at Hogwarts. He tilted the controls back until he was level with the older cyborg. Harry looked out at the swarm of enemies in from of them. What did people tend to call this sort of thing? A Zurg Rush?

_“Your pursuers are Black Ace attack craft on autopilot,”_ the doctor said over the main radio.

“You hear that 009? Let’s take them out.” 004 said calmly. Instead of answering, Harry started firing. His overly keen eyes, even with their restricted state, allowed him to easily take down drone after drone. Surprisingly, his skills at flying on a broom seemed to translate to a plane fairly well, as he was easily out maneuvering the drones. He heard 004 let out an impressed whistle.

“Not bad 009, you’re pretty good at flying it seems. Wonder if Black Ghost programed that into you, or if you’re just a natural.”

“Dunno.” _Actually I’ve always been a natural at flying, but I can’t tell you that._ “While we’re on the topic, just what is Black Ghost anyways?”

“Wow, I’m surprised you’re cool enough to talk right now.” Harry chuckled.

“Naw, I’m just a dog after a bone when it comes to stuff I don’t know. And Black Ghost is something I don’t know.” 004 hummed.

“I don’t know much, except that they’re a large-scale death merchant.”

“A death merchant?!”

“Yeah, they sell weapons and arms to plant the seeds of war.”

“Oh, fantastic,” Harry said, his tone heavy with sarcasm. _And now, because of me, they have an idea of the existence of magic._ Fragments of the nightmare from earlier pushed at the edge of his mind, but he quickly shoved them back. He did not need to be distracted right now.

Harry watched 004, suddenly bank left out of the corner of his eye.

“And where are you going?” he asked.

“I’ve run out of bullets. I’m off to the ammo store.” Was the completely serious sounding answer he received.

“Wait, what?!” Harry spluttered in disbelief.

“Just kidding.” Said 004, and he promptly used the wing of his plane to slice through one of the drones. Harry made a surprised sound. “This whole airship was designed to be a weapon, just like me.”

“Oh, I see.” Harry shifted his controls and started cutting through the drones as well as shooting them. He knew it wasn’t really something to brag about, but it seemed that he was pretty good at this. “That’s why they made us cyborgs, isn’t it? To use us as weapons.”

“Dah, that’s it alright. Like it or not, that’s what we are now.” Harry fell silent, and couldn’t help wondering if Black Ghost was really the first to see him as nothing more than a weapon.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

After returning to the carrier, Harry retreated to a window seat away from the rest of the group. He knew they’d heard the conversation between 004 and himself, and would probably shrug off the distance as him trying to sort out the information he’d been given. They’d be close, but not correct.

He’d always felt something had been off about his years at Hogwarts. The way he always seemed to find the answer to whatever mystery appeared each year, the way only he was truly able to stop it, how it always seemed like Dumbledore would happen to be at just the right (or wrong) place at the right time. Because of the night at the Graveyard, and the resulting smear campaign the ministry had launched against him, he’d taken a real, hard look at his years in the wizarding world and had realized something had been very wrong. But he’d hadn’t really known what. Well, other than the minister’s (and most of their society’s) incompetence, of course. Yet it wasn’t until Black Ghost had abducted him, and he’d finally met people who were even a little bit like him, that he finally had the final pieces to the puzzle.

It made him feel sick at how easily the magical world had played him.

Before attending Hogwarts, he’d prided himself at being able to see through deception. It was how he’d survived at the Dursleys for so long. By all rights he should have died at their hands long ago, but he had been cunning enough to figure out how to survive. But the thoughts of magic, and of meeting people like him had blinded his usually perceptive mind. And it stung.

Dumbledore, who he’d admired, had been trying to preen him into a weapon. One that would charge into battle without a single thought for his own safety for the sake of the old headmaster’s “Greater Good”. The same old headmaster who’d gone to absurd lengths to ensure he went to Hogwarts, and tried to appear as a grandfather figure to Harry.

And the Weasleys, the more he looked at it, the more he realized that only the five eldest brothers had honestly cared about him. And maybe Mr. Weasley. But the thought that the person he’d viewed as his first, real friend had, if fact, been a spy of some form… That hurt more than Harry had ever thought something could. It was easily worse than when he’d thought Ron had abandoned him in fourth year.

At least, it seemed, Hermione had been a real friend.

A light tap on his shoulder brought Harry out of his depressing musings. A small pulse revealed the person as 003. Now that he had an idea of what she looked like, he had to admit she was pretty, though not really his type. She seemed just a little too dainty for his taste.

“The doctor says we should be arriving at our destination soon.” Harry nodded, standing in a fluid motion. A few pulses and he had reached the chair 008 was sitting in with relative ease.

“There it is, island X.” The doctor said, pointing out an island that really was shaped like an X. Harry didn’t even know islands could form into a shape like that.

“What do we do Doctor? At this height we’ll fly low enough to avoid the radar, but we’ll crash into the cliffs.” 008 said.

“Don’t panic,” the doctor said calmly. “Stay at this altitude and circle the island.” Harry kept his eyes trained on the cliff as 008 followed the old scientist’s instructions. He was the first to spot the opening in the cliff. “Go through there and land in that inner cove.” 002 let out a snort.

“The Doc wants us to do an acrobatic maneuver.”

“Then let’s do it!” said 008. Harry felt the plane tilting, quickly adjusting his weight to keep his footing behind 008, his eyes remaining on the opening. He could tell that they could make it through, whether or not the plane would be in one piece, however, was up for debate. Green eyes remained focused as the plane flew at a 90 degree angle through the opening, ignoring the yelps from their companions as they lost their footing and fell about the airship as it was jostled by the top and bottom of the plane scraping against the cliff walls.

_We’re coming out too soon!_ Harry thought as the plane began trying to return to its original position, and one of the wings was ripped off by the cliff. The airship slammed into the water, smashing rocks as it moved far too quickly through the small cove.

“Head for the cave!” Dr. Gilmore shouted, pointing forwards. 008 veered sharply to the right, sending more members of the group to the floor in ungraceful heaps. The cave ended up taking the other wing off, before the airship slammed into the end of the hidden cove, bringing the group to an abrupt halt.

“Everyone alright?” 002 called behind him.

“Define ‘Alright’.” Said 005, who was holding up 003 (who was holding 001) and Dr. Gilmore, while sitting on top of 007 (the unlucky sod). Harry had ended up sprawled across 004’s chest and lap as the man had been standing behind him when the teen had finally lost his footing. Both were dazed by the rough landing, but unharmed.

“Well, that was harrowing. Let’s not do it again any time soon, shall we?” Harry commented. 004 made a noise of agreement. Harry was first to get to his feet, and offered a hand to help 004 up. After all, Harry was the one who’d knocked him down. 004 accepted the hand, and allowed Harry to pull him up.

“Thanks.” Harry smiled.

“No problem.”

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

 

006 had decided that, after as long a day as they’d had, it was time for the group to sit down and eat. Harry had no idea that the man could cook, or what he was making. He was just glad that someone other than him knew how. The green eyed boy listened to the surrounding conversations, but didn’t really pay attention to them. His gloomy thoughts were trying to enter his mind again, but he kept pushing them back. The amount of unfocused magic he’d used throughout the day was finally catching up to him. Maybe a nap after he ate would be a good idea. Assuming he didn’t have any more nightmares, of course.

Harry ate quietly, impressed by how good the slapped together meal was. He didn’t really know what he was eating. And he was pretty sure he didn’t want to know. But it was good and that was all that mattered to him.

“Seconds anyone?” Harry glanced back at 006. He had plenty for himself (because of the Dursleys he ate much less than most people) so he didn’t think he needed any more food. “Hmm?” 006 looked over at Harry. “Why, 009! You’re eating so little!” The man said, his tone disapproving. “Here, have some more! Don’t be shy, there’s plenty where that came from.” Harry took one look at the man’s jovial expression with his pulse, and instantly caved in to the almost command.

“Th-thanks, 006.”

“This is really good.” Said 003. Harry could hear the smile in her tone. “What kind of meat is it?” Harry felt his heart sink. The one thing he was sure he didn’t want to know.

“The stew’s topnotch!” 007 said cheerfully. Harry made another pulse, catching the way 006 puffed up in pride.

“I did a Cambodian dish with Chinese barbecue sauce. I used a whole lot of them.” The green-eyed boy cursed his curiosity as he found himself looking up as well, and spotted the bats covering the ceiling. He swallowed the bite he’d taken, wishing he hadn’t looked. “You’ll never guess what I used for your stew, 007.” 007 hunched in on himself.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to tell me.” 006 continued.

“It’s actually a traditional Cantonese dish. Snake stew.” Harry sighed.

“And that, 007, 003, is why you never ask what a chef used to make your food when you’re not in a proper kitchen or familiar with the dish. Not only will you chance learning something you didn’t want to know, you’ll risk killing the appetite of everyone eating with you.” He took another bite of his food. Even if he wasn’t really hungry anymore, it wasn’t polite to turn away good food (that was why he always tried to finish his plate at the Weasleys. Though he felt bad when his stomach couldn’t handle all the good food he was given). Besides, he’d eaten haggis before, barbecue bat and snake stew weren’t that bad by comparison.

He looked back to where the rest of the cyborgs were quietly talking with Dr. Gilmore.

“What about the other scientists? How do we know we can trust them?” asked 008.

“They told me of the existence of this cave.” Dr. Gilmore said. “They all feel the same way I do. We finally realized we’d been deceived by Black Ghost right from the start.”

“So their plan is for us infiltrate back in, destroy the lab, and escape?” Harry frowned as the doctor nodded. Perhaps his years at Hogwarts really had made him paranoid, because such a vague plan was setting off more warning bells than he could count.

“Why do we have to use a ship to escape? If we need to leave fast, that’s not a smart way to go.”

“Not usually, but I think you’ll find out this particular vessel is no ordinary ship. Just wait until you see it.” An odd noise caught his attention, making him turn back to see 007 trying to feed 001. He raised an eyebrow at how rough his fellow Brit was being with the baby cyborg. He shook his head, standing up.

Smoothly, he scooped 001 out of 007’s arms, giving the man a deadpan expression.

“I take it you’ve never handled a baby before, 007?” he asked blandly. The man’s head changed color, signaling that he was blushing.

“Well, no. Not really.” He admitted. Harry sighed.

“Then I’ll do it.” Harry said, neatly taking the bottle from 007’s hand and sitting down with the small cyborg in his arms. Harry, surprising though it was, did know how to handle a baby as small as 001. A young mother at the Quidditch World Cup had found the Boy-Who-Lived’s fascination with small children to be adorable and taught him how to hold and feed a baby. Letting him feed her baby, and showing him the proper way to do it. A few, slightly more rapid pulses allowed Harry to clearly “see” 001 and get the bottle in his mouth.

Unlike with 007, 001 was much more complacent with Harry feeding him. The baby probably still remembered Harry’s spanking threat.

“Hmm, you’re pretty good at that 009. You wouldn’t happen to have any little brothers or sisters, would you?” asked 006. Harry glanced at him.

“Nope. Only child. I have a cousin, but he’s older than me. We’ve never really gotten along.” Harry casually stated. The lack of a relationship with his relatives didn’t really bother him anymore. He didn’t really think of them as family, to be honest. “I’ve helped out neighbors with small children though.” A half-truth, there were in fact a few people in Little Whinging who’d realized that Harry wasn’t as bad as his relatives made him out to be, and let him help out every once in a while.

He listened to 007 and 006 exchange banter in the background. He frowned slightly, looking around.

“Something wrong, 009?” asked 003.

“I just noticed, we don’t have a burp cloth.” Her blur shifted, signaling that she, too, was looking around.

“Oh dear, you’re right. Here, I’ll take 001 while you see if there’s something we can use as a substitute on the ship.” Harry nodded, carefully handing off the small cyborg.

“I’ll be right…” Harry was cut off by 003’s startled gasp.

“Above us! There are bombers coming!” Harry sucked in a sharp breath. They felt the explosions as they shook the cave. The teen could feel his stomach churning from the amount of shaking.

“We need to head for the tunnels! There’s no way the cave’ll survive that kind of barrage!” Harry shouted over the racket. The ground shook and part of the ceiling gave way over their heads. Harry swore loudly and activated his acceleration mode and scooped 003 and 001 into his arms and dashed to a safe place away from the falling rocks. If it weren’t for his acceleration timing out, he would have gone back for the others as well.

“009,” 003 whispered. “You saved both of us. Thank you so much.” He looked back at the boulders.

“009!” Harry looked up at 002, who had Dr. Gilmore in his arms. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. But what about the others?”

“They’ll be alright. You’ll see.” Dr. Gilmore assured him, and the doctor was quickly proven right if the shaking stones were any indication. 005 burst through the rock, his formidable strength making it easy for him to unearth the rest of the group. Harry watched the show of skill and strength, as well as the durability of his fellow cyborgs, as they all rose from the rubble, dazed but unharmed (except 007, but that was more his bad luck of being over 006 than due to the rocks).

“I’m glad everyone’s alright.” Dr. Gilmore said.

“Now what should we do?” 003 asked the doctor. “The exit’s cut off.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find another way out of this cave.” Beeping sounded through the cave startling the group. Harry’s magic reacted by seeking out the source.

_Pulse._

The doctor was twisting where he stood, his attention on his pocket. Making full use of his pulses, Harry watched the doctor pull a cellphone from his pocket and flipped it open. A relieved smile appeared on his lips.

“It’s them. My fellow scientists are calling.” The group followed the instructions given to them by the people on the other end of Dr. Gilmore’s phone. Well it seemed they’d be starting their plan early. He hoped that the scientists really had managed to smuggle the cyborg’s pilfered belongings onto the ship.

They split into two groups. One infiltration, the other distraction. The infiltration team was made up of Harry, Dr. Gilmore, 006, 003 and 001. They didn’t need to be powerful, they just needed to be able to get in easily with as few obstacles as possible. The distraction team was made up of 002, 004, 005, 007, and 008.

Harry and the doctor peered around the corner at the guards.

“Pretty tight security. I wonder why my colleagues didn’t tell me about this.” Dr. Gilmore muttered. Harry’s eye narrowed. This didn’t feel right.

“It’s a good thing we split up into two units.” 006 commented.

“If the plan goes well,” 003 whispered, “They’ll be drawing the enemy’s attention about now.” The ground shook under their feet and Harry could see a cloud of smoke rising in the distance.

_“*Attention, all personnel! Emergency at the #3 armory! Mobilize immediately!*”_ Harry smirked.

“That’s our cue.” He whispered and he shot forward, tearing through the handful of remaining robots. He couldn’t help noticing that that with each fight he got involved in, it kept getting easier to fight. And the feeling of wrongness with his body that he’d had since he first awoke in the labs faded as he continued to use his new abilities and his magic together. He couldn’t help wondering why. Was his magic somehow adapting to his now part-machine body? Or was it the other way around? A small part of him wished Hermione was there. She’d probably be able to figure it out, no problem.

_No, Harry, now is not the time to get distracted. Just focus on what you’re doing now._ Harry thought to himself, lightly shaking his head.

“Hurry up!” 003 called from the elevator, where she and the rest of the group stood waiting for him too finish. He smashed a final robot then jogged inside just before the door closed.

Harry led the small group, furthering his skills with his magic-based pulses as he went. He rather liked this new trick. He’d have to keep practicing it even after he got new glasses. They carefully slipped down the halls and finally found the launch bay that held the ship they were going to steal. Harry couldn’t hold in the awed, “wow” that escaped him when he finally caught sight of the ship.

“Is this the ship?” asked 006. “It looks more like a plane.”

“It’s a prototype and if all goes well, it will be named the Black Phantom.” The doctor stated. “The Black Ghost planned to use it to dominate everything: The land, the sky, and the sea.” The clink of an opening door sounded behind them. Harry seized his weapon and whirled around to face the possible threat, but froze at what he saw. A brown haired man in lab coat was leaning heavily against the door, red stains seeping across his clothing. The wizard could smell the faint tint of copper in the air. The same copper he had smelled many times before. It was the smell of blood.

Watching the Doctor rush forward, Harry’s grim logic spoke up. Telling him that if he could smell the blood from this distance, then it was too late for that man. The man (Dr. Ryan, according to Dr. Gilmore’s shout) spoke in hoarse whisper.

“G-Gilmore… E-everyone’s been killed.” The man slumped weakly, before collapsing. Harry couldn’t see him breathing. Spot lights were thrown on, blinding the group. Harry cursed. It was a trap, they were completely surrounded by robots. All of which looked much stronger than the ones the cyborgs had seen previously. Hard, jade green eyes searched the room for an escape route. Laughter echoed through the room.

On the platform above, a man in a commander-like uniform stood over them, a cruel smile on his lips. In all honesty, the man had the classic “evil villain” look with his slicked back hair, crisp cut mustache, and angular facial structure.

“Doctor Gilmore, you conspired with the Devil, so to speak, and a truly great invention was born.” The man said, his mightier-than-thou tone grating on Harry’s nerves. “Knowing that, why did you act so foolishly and betray us? Could it be that you lost your nerve?”

“When we realized what you were up to, we knew we’d been deceived and wanted nothing more to do with you!” The Doctor shouted.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You pretended to be deceived for the sake of your research. That way you could live with a clear conscience.”

“Not true!” He breathed, taking a half step back. Harry’s eye narrowed, anger was coiling in his gut. The man above grinned cruelly.

“I’m sending you and your associates to another world!” He threw his arm forward. “Now wipe them out!” Harry hit the switch in his teeth, and the world slowed. He couldn’t take his time with these robots. He needed to either destroy or disable them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“009!” Harry jolted, turning back to the others. Green eyes widened. The rest of the group was being attacked. Harry surged towards them, quickly smashing the robots towering over 003 and 001, and destroying the one hold 006 up by his foot. He was about to pick the doctor up and get him out of harm’s way when 001 shouted at him.

“Don’t do it!” Harry quickly cut his speed, but was still moving fast enough to scoop the elderly man into his grasp and escape the attack. “Put him down. He’s an ordinary human, he can’t handle you accelerated speed.”

“Oh, I see.” Harry murmured. The heavy, metal thud of an approaching robot had the teen quickly pulling out his weapon and firing at its head. As the battle continued, the wizard grew more and more frustrated. These robots were starting to remind him of the hydra myths. With every robot they destroyed, is seemed like two more took its place.

“We’re not getting anywhere here! Please tell me someone has an idea!” He shouted.

_“006, melt the door. Open a hole!”_

“A hole?! But the water!” The Chinese man shouted. “We could drown!”

_“Don’t worry, you won’t. 009!”_ The youngest cyborg didn’t need to finish. Harry grabbed the portly man and, using his speed, set him directly in front of the bay doors.

“We’re counting on you!” Harry said quickly, before throwing himself back into the fray. It was time for more experimenting.

At its core, magic was just controlling one’s inner energy with their force of will. If you had a weak will, you didn’t have much control and couldn’t use a lot of magic, no matter how big or small your magical core was. A strong will had much better control, and could use much more advanced magic and complicated spells. Incantations and wand movements just made it easier for people to use, and had very little effect on the core. Accidental magic was an uncontrolled version of early magic as it was fueled by the will during times of stress, but the person never really knew how to use it. Wands acted as a medium for learning and focusing a person’s magic and could be substituted for anything, so long as the person could channel their magic through it. They made it easier for people to use the full extent of their power without losing any extra energy.

Right now, Harry didn’t have a medium to focus, but had plenty of will to control the raw magic. Not to mention that Black Ghost was providing plenty of stress to motivate him. He couldn’t think of any spells to cause as much damage as he wanted, so he’d just have to improvise.

Harry focused on his magic. On the way it surged and swirled under his skin. He pictured a whirling ball of energy forming over his hand, small enough to not be cumbersome but strong enough to destroy one of the robots. The ball formed, and Harry hurled it into the mass of enemies before him. His spell worked as, upon making contact, it obliterated the robot, sending pieces of it into the air. Many of which collided with other robots and made them explode. Harry smiled slightly, and continued making up new spells on the spot, using them one after another on the robots. He had a feeling the doctor was watching him closely, trying to figure out just what Harry was doing, and how he was doing it. Not that the man would be having a lot of success. But that would have to wait until later. He heard 006 yelp, and the sound of rushing water filled the room.

A sudden tidal wave of water surged from the opening 006 had made, knocking Harry and the few remaining Robots off their feet. He was knocked through the door to the inner base, which shut in an attempt to keep it from flooding.

“Damn! I’ll have to find another way back to the launch bay.” He said, glaring at the offending door. “I’ll just have to find the route used by that guy from earlier.” He turned on his acceleration mode again, hoping to save time.

This was quickly proved to be a very good idea, as the building seemed to be designed like a maze. Though it was nowhere near as bad as the Hogwarts grounds, he was sure he’s gone in a complete loop more than once. Though he didn’t find the route he was after, he did find the man in question, kneeling before a strange person wearing a cape and a skull mask. In terms of scariness and intimidation, the man didn’t hold a candle to Voldemort.

“Shoot, am I interrupting something? Oh well.” Harry asked his tone harsh and sarcastic. He pulled out his pistol, taking aim at the masked man. “I take it you’re the man in charge?” The base shook, startling the teen, but he kept his weapon trained on the masked man. Mustache spoke.

“Sorry, you’re too late. I’m blowing this base to pieces and you and your associates are going with it.”

“Good, Commander Scarl. You’ve set the destruct phase. Your final job is complete.” The man, Scarl, seemed nervous. Instincts shouting, Harry leapt back, only just avoiding the electrical charge that went off under Scarl’s feet. He watched with wide eyes as the charred body fell to the ground. “Well, now, cyborg 009, I’ve been admiring your accomplishments and your abilities. Truly, your natural powers are a sight to behold. You’ve become quite the destructive little weapon.” The anger that had been pooling in his gut changed from a small fire to a phoenix’s inferno. Harry’s magic was now visibly swirling around him from his barely restrained anger. An intimidating sight for most, though the masked man seemed unaffected.

“You disgusting piece of dung, do you really have so little respect for life that you feel no remorse for taking another’s life?” he snarled. Magic was a force of nature. A force of life! He’d learned to love that about it. Regardless of how wizards had forgotten the fact that their powers were a gift of nature, he had come to treasure it. “Are you truly fool enough to believe that this is a disposable world?!” The man chuckled.

“Isn’t it? People have always taken what they needed and thrown away what was useless to them. But it doesn’t matter. Our time is up, 009, farewell.” Harry’s magic exploded from his body, demolishing the room and surging out to attack the masked man. But the strike merely went through him. An image, like an illusion, which vanished after he attacked. The wizard’s legs nearly gave out under him, as the impact of his magic usage finally took hold.

“T-too much magic.” He said, his voice shaky and out of breath sounding. “I-I need to get back to the others. Before the base explodes.” He forced his now exhausted body into motion, racing shakily back to the launch bay.

By some miracle, Harry found his way back, and managed to destroy the final robot enemy attacking his team and their new ship.

“Hey, sorry I’m late. This place is a ruddy maze if you don’t know your way.” He said tiredly, doing his best to hide how shaky and weak he felt. “We need to go. Like, now. I ran into the guy from earlier, he’d started the self-destruct sequence for the base.” The heard the gasps and curses from the others.

“Hurry up then! We won’t have much time!” said Dr. Gilmore, his tone frantic. 004 seemed to notice that something was wrong with Harry and started leading him in. He paused long enough to glance back at 002.

“Looks like 009 showed you up.” He commented, and pulled the small teen inside. The teen leaned heavily on the older cyborg, fighting to stay awake. Harry was quickly plopped into a seat in the back, with the German man standing beside him.

“Prepare for takeoff!” 008 said. 004 draped and arm over Harry’s shoulders holding the teen in place. The ship start moving, busting way through the partially melted doors and racing down the underwater tunnels.

“Almost out!” 006 cheered only to be cut short by part of the tunnel ahead collapsing. Though still exhausted, Harry grasped 004’s other arm as it came over his chest.

“Launch the torpedoes now!” 007 shouted franticly. 008 did so, hurriedly clearing the debris from their path. The ship only just managed to escape, and rose to the surface. Finally seeing that they were safe for the time being, Harry let himself relax. And passed out so suddenly that he sent everyone into a panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOT! Chapter 2 is complete! And 002 finally started to cooperate with me! Remember the relationship with 004 and Harry is supposed to start out as a sort of fatherly affection, which is why things don’t seem very romantic at the moment.
> 
> I’m sure there’s someone who’s wondering what the wand, force of will, and Harry passing out stuff are about. Answer, I’m trying to explain why Harry can use magic without his wand, why he can do it so well, and what side effects there are to it.
> 
> Early magic users didn’t have wands when they were first discovering their magic. They just had their hands, and their ability to use it. The recommended use of wands and staves (or other magical items) didn’t come until later (ever hear of Bardic {music} magic? Sword {weapon} magic? Guess what? They were used before wand magic). Harry’s just tapping into his roots so to speak. Plus, with how long he kept having bursts of accidental magic, I’d say he has a LOT more power than the average wizard (he’s the equal to someone over fifty years his senior, he’d HAVE to be insanely powerful).
> 
> The reason he’s so good at the moment? Technically, he’s always know how to use wandless magic. He just never had a real need for it. Also, I’d imagine that, while trying to find everything he needed to last through the tri-wizard tournament, he and Hermione HAD to’ve stumbled across references to wandless magic and how it was originally done. If I had been in Harry’s place, I’d have dug deeper in order to have every possible tool at my disposal to stay alive!
> 
> Lastly, why Harry passed out. While my Harry has studied the use of wandless magic extensively, this does not mean he has the experience for it. Remember how I referred to the magical tools (like a wand) as a “Focus”? That’s because I’d wager the wizarding world doesn’t actually know their limits. They just throw around their power all willy-nilly. My best comparison would be to black powder. The powder is magic, and the bullet is what you want done. If you set a bullet on black powder and light it, yeah, you get a loud bang and some smoke, but the bullet won’t move very far. Put the powder and bullet into a gun that focuses that bang into a directional blast. And, hey presto, the bullet takes off!
> 
> Without his wand, Harry doesn’t know how to focus his magic. As such he’s throwing out a lot of power that, unfortunately, isn’t being used for what he wants. More power than his body is used to letting out all at once. Which, of course, leads to Harry exhausting himself really fast.
> 
> And what’s the best way of recovering lost energy? Why, eating and sleeping of course! Neither of which he’s really had the chance to get a good amount of. Yes, 006/Chang fed everyone, but Harry’s relatives have done a decent amount of damage to his body, leaving him with a too small appetite and a weakened body. And if he did try to eat more, or if he ate food that was too rich for him, he’d end up barfing it up! Simply put, while he did eat, he didn’t/couldn’t eat enough.
> 
> As for sleeping, Harry has a damaged mind thanks to the lack of mental support growing up and after various events in the wizarding world (by all rights he’s killed two people {Quirrel and Voldemort’s memory self} and seen one of his classmates die {you remember Cedric right?}, and nobody’s taken him to a mind healer or tried to help him cope with it! And let’s not forget what happens to him around Dementors), so he has nightmares every time he tries to sleep from his mental torment and guilt! Recovery sleep is a no-go on that front. So, in a desperate bid to heal, Harry’s body has pretty much gone into a shutdown to force him to recover.
> 
> Which means he passed out because it was the only option left for him. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine once he wakes up.
> 
> That’s all for now! Please R&R!
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. For those who are wondering where the idea of the magical pulses came from, it was inspired by a Detective Conan and Magic Kaito crossover fiction titled “Shades of Grey”. It centers around a blind Suguru Hakuba who refers to his psychic/supernatural ability to create energy pulses as an “Edge”. It’s a good read, so I’d recommend looking it up.


	3. Seeking Shelter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Harry unconscious the other Cyborgs wonder what they should do, and wonder what could have caused the teenage cyborg's collapse. Strange little notes crop up throughout the day, and Albert can't help wondering just WHO Cyborg 009 is, where he comes from, and what kind of secrets he could be hiding from them.

* * *

Chapter 3: Seeking Shelter

* * *

Albert leaned against the wall outside the medical bay of their stolen ship, outwardly calm, but inwardly nervous as he watched 002 pace up and down the corridor with 006 standing beside him. He’d nearly panicked when 009 had passed out in his arms. But he had kept his head long enough to shout for Dr. Gilmore’s attention. The doctor and 003 had been quick to set up the medical bay and have 009 brought in. He was worried, everyone was. But he had been the first to notice something was off with 009 when he’d reunited with them in the hanger. The kid had seemed absolutely exhausted, but there was no way he could have done enough in that small expanse of time to wear him out that badly.

His musings were interrupted by the door to the medical bay opening, quickly drawing the attention of those standing outside. The doctor walked out with 003 trailing behind him, a sigh escaping the scientist.

“How is he, doctor?” the German man asked, 006 and 007 leaning closer to hear. Dr. Gilmore smiled slightly.

“009 will be alright. He’s just exhausted himself.” The group let out a breath they hadn’t realized they’d been holding.

“But why’d he pass out?” asked 002. “He couldn’t have done enough to wear himself out that fast.” Dr. Gilmore rubbed his chin.

“I have a few theories, but they all revolve around something I don’t really know much about.” The Doctor stated. Those present gave the man their undivided attention. “Black Ghost brought 009 into the program around the beginning of August last year-”

“Last year?!” yelped 007 in surprise. “Why on earth was he only just finished now? Surely you could have finished him sooner.” The doctor sighed.

“We couldn’t, but not because we didn’t have the needed equipment. At every step we had to alter or recalibrate the cybernetics and equipment we were working with for him. It wasn’t until one of the other scientists turned a scanner on him that we had idea of why.” The scientist led them into the room where 009 was laid out on one of the beds, a white blanket drawn up to his chest, his eyes closed and his expression peaceful. His scarf was folded up on a table and his boots set down at the side of the bed. He could have passed or any other sleeping teen if it weren’t for the wires connected to the back of his head. A monitor was set up by 009’s head with various colored lines on it, many of which Albert recognized from the many checkups they’d received while in Black Ghost’s care for things like fuel levels, blood levels, weapon energy levels, and other such things. But, running across the bottom of the screen, was one Albert wasn’t familiar with. The scientist tapped the line in question.

“This line represents a completely natural energy that 009’s body produced even before Black took him. One which, as far as we know, has never been recorded before.” The man stated, making Albert blink in surprise.

“A natural energy?” he asked, leaning a bit closer to the screen. The doctor nodded.

“Yes, based on what I saw while trying to work on him, this energy is constantly at work maintaining and possibly protecting 009’s body even when he was unconscious. Though its flow and levels seem to drop when he’s at rest as opposed to when he’s awake, much like a blood flow. It wreaked quite a bit of havoc on our machinery while we were working.” The doctor said, checking over the equipment by 009. “Somehow it could destroy our machinery and equipment whenever we accidentally set it off. The only machines it didn’t destroy at some point were the life support machines we had him connected to during the surgeries on some of his major organs. Like his brain and heart. If it hadn’t, we probably could’ve finished working on him in mid to late-October last year instead of mid-March this year.”

“So, what can this energy do? Besides mess up your equipment, of course.” Asked 007. Dr. Gilmore glanced back at him.

“To be honest, I don’t really know. And it didn’t just “mess up” our equipment. After the energy was done with it, the equipment was completely useless. The circuitry was either melted or it just wouldn’t work anymore no matter what we did.” 002 frowned.

“And yet Black Ghost kept going? What if it ended up killing him?” Dr. Gilmore sighed, looking older that he already was (which was saying something).

“I asked the very same question, and that was when we’d gotten the final bit of proof that made us realize we’d been deceived by Black Ghost. The person sent to speak with us had stated that it didn’t matter, and they would just find someone else if our work with 009 failed.” Albert gritted his teeth in anger. So 009’s life hadn’t mattered to them, and that was what led to the doctor seeing the truth. “I think this energy is the reason for 009 collapsing.”

“But if it’s been helping 009 all this time, why did he suddenly collapse?” 006 asked in confusion. The doctor tapped the line.

“Because that energy seems to have dropped significantly since he was in the labs. I think he may have been using it up during his escape from the lab and our escape from the island. Whether or not he was aware of it, I don’t know, but that’s my theory. Since his body is so used to having large amounts of that energy, the sudden loss of it caused his body to treat it in a similar way to exhaustion. Simply put, 009 has fallen into a kind of recovery sleep to regain that lost energy. For now, he just needs to be left to rest and recover. And he’ll probably need some food for when he finally wakes up.” 006 puffed up, smiling brightly.

“Well then! I’ll just have to make something extra good for him then!” 002 rolled his eyes.

“With what? It’s not like we have a stocked kitchen.” 002 snapped. “We don’t even know what to do next!”

“I do have a place in mind where we can rest and lay low for a while. A good friend of mine, Professor Kozumi, lives right by the coast of Japan. With the ship’s speed it should be less than a day’s flight from here. I’m certain he won’t mind having us for a while.” Dr. Gilmore said, his tone placating.

“Will he have room for us?” asked 003. The doctor nodded.

“Yes, he owns a mansion near the Tokyo bay, he should have plenty of room for us.” The doctor turned back to the door. “I’d best give 008 and 005 the coordinates to get to Dr. Kozumi’s.”

“What about 009?” asked 006. “Shouldn’t someone stay to keep an eye on him?”

“As I’ve already said, 009 will be fine. He just needs rest.” Said Dr. Gilmore. “Though, you may have a point about having someone watch over 009. We really don’t know how 009’s power works…” Albert smiled.

“No worries, Doc,” Albert said, casually waving to the man. “I’ll stay back and keep watch. I call you over the transmitter if something comes up.” The doctor nodded.

“Ah, thank you, 004. I don’t think anything will happen, but it’s best to be on the safe side.” The Doctor stepped out, Albert’s fellow cyborg’s following him until only himself and the sleeping 009 remained. The German man sighed, sitting down on one of the beds next to the sleeping teen. He watched the slow rise and fall of the boy’s chest. It was a little surprising, learning that 009 had some form of special power. Though, it seemed to do a fairly good job explaining why Black Ghost had been so interested in 009. But now he couldn’t help wondering about where 009 came from.

Were there others with powers like 009’s? Did Black Ghost kidnap him for his powers? Did 009 still have family he could go back to? Friends? He’d have to wait until 009 woke up to ask. Assuming the boy would or could answer them.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

Albert jolted up. He looked around, seeing the walls of their new medical bay around him. He must’ve fallen asleep at some point while watching over 009. Speaking of, Albert looked over at the sleeping teen. 009’s face was scrunched slightly, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth, and his eyebrows furrowed. The adult frowned. He slipped off the bed he’d settled on and stepped over to the black-haired teen.

“009?” He murmured. The teen was mumbling in his sleep. He remembered seeing something like this before. Ah, yes, when he’d gone looking for 009 during their initial escape in the seaplane. 009 had been in the midst of a nightmare. He frowned. Was 009 having a nightmare during his recovery sleep? That shouldn’t happen when someone was supposed to be essentially unconscious.

009 probably hadn’t noticed yet, but each of them possessed a translator chip that had been built into their brains by the Black Ghost scientists. It was a kind of subconscious use, most of the time they used it without thinking, though there were times when they wouldn’t understand someone when they were being particularly emotional or if the chip had been damaged in some way (he’d found that out from experience). Considering the multicultural and multilingual nature of their team, it was very useful. But, when one of them was feeling emotional, those present could push their own translators to understand them anyways. For the most part, Albert couldn’t understand him, and could only pick out a handful words. But he could tell the teen was upset about whatever he was dreaming of.

He frowned. The doctor said that 009 needed his sleep, but he couldn’t leave the kid in a nightmare. He vaguely remembered something his own mother used to do when he was little. Carefully he leaned down next to 009’s head and started running the fingers of his left hand through the teen’s hair.

“Calm down, 009, you’re safe. Everyone’s safe.” He murmured softly, doing his best sound gentle and soothing. He didn’t actually know what was wrong, he wasn’t going to disrespect 009’s privacy by using his translator to find out what the teen was mumbling, but he hoped hearing the words or tone would help. 009 pushed his head into Albert’s hand, mumbling something he couldn’t understand. “You’re fine, everything’s fine.”

Albert kept reciting this mantra until, slowly, 009’s expression smoothed out into the same peaceful face he had seen earlier. His fingers brushed over a scar on 009’s forehead. He couldn’t help taking a closer look as he rubbed his thumb over it. It was small, shaped like a bolt of lightning, and it looked almost like someone had carved it into his forehead. He frowned at how irritated it looked. Maybe he should ask the doctor check it out later. It looked old, so it shouldn’t look so red and irritated. To his surprise, the teen’s face suddenly scrunched, green eyes fluttering open. Albert glanced at the screen showing 009’s energy levels.

While 009’s power was much higher than when he’d first passed out, it still seemed pretty low compared to the other levels on the screen. The teen blinked drowsily up at him. Albert ignored the strange feeling that brushed over him. It was the first time he’d noticed that 009’s eyes didn’t really seem to focus on his face. It had to be because of how tired the kid probably was.

“004?” He smiled at him.

“Morning 009, sleep well?” The boy nodded.

“Sorta… What happened?” he asked, tiredly. He propped himself up, struggling to sit up. Albert placed his hands on 009’s chest, carefully pushing him back down. Green eyes swept, unfocused, over the room. “Where are we?” Albert leaned back.

“The medical bay. You gave us a good scare when you passed out earlier.” 009 rubbed at his eyes.

“Oh… Sorry…” He said looking up at Albert, who dismissed his apology with a wave.

“No need to apologize, I better call the doctor over the radio to check you over.” The kid grimaced. But he didn’t argue with him.

_“002? You awake?”_ He asked over his inner radio.

_“What is it 004?”_ was the clipped reply he received.

_“Is Dr. Gilmore with you?”_

_“Yeah, why?”_

_“009’s come to. I think the doctor would want to know.”_ He heard the red-head grumble about being used as the messenger.

_“Yeah, fine. The Doc says he’ll be there in a minute.”_

_“Thanks.”_

_“Whatever.”_ Albert looked over at 009, who was now squinting at the monitor by his head.

“If you have a question, you’re free to ask it.” Green eye flicked over at him.

“What’s that stuff on the screen?” He raised an eyebrow at 009’s wording, his lips twitching in amusement.

“Basically? It’s a graph of your current health.” He lightly tapped the screen. “Your blood levels, the fuel levels for the cybernetic side of your body, etcetera. What’s interesting is that, according to the good doctor, this low line represents a strange energy that you had even before Black Ghost got ahold of you. Apparently how low it is lead to you collapsing earlier.” He noticed the way 009 tensed ever so slightly, and how the teen suddenly refused to look directly at him.

“Oh, really?” He asked, voice soft. Albert watched him.

“So you already know about it then.” He watched the teen tense even more. He sighed. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” 009 looked up at him, surprise evident on his face. What? Did the kid think he was going to force him to spill all his secrets? “Everyone’s entitled to their privacy after all.”

The door opened suddenly, drawing the attention of both cyborgs. Dr. Gilmore strode in, giving 009 a smile.

“I’m glad to see you’ve come around, 009. How are you feeling?”

“I think I’m okay. A little groggy, but other than that…” the teen trailed off. The doctor nodded, seeming to understand what 009 meant. The elder stepped over to the controls by 009’s head, examining the data on the computer. Albert watched as the doctor examined what was on the screen.

“Hmm… Your energy levels still seem rather low, but it should safe to let you be up and about now. Though I’m still wondering about that power you have, I’m sure 004 has mentioned it to you by now, but I’d rather investigate when you’ve recovered completely.” 009 nodded, mindful of the wires connected to his head. Dr. Gilmore carefully unplugged 009 from the computer. “I wouldn’t recommend hurrying off. It may be safe for you to be up and about, but that doesn’t mean you’re in peak condition.”

“Yes sir.” 009 said softly, sitting up slowly. The man smiled.

“006 managed to put together something for you to eat-”

“Before you send him off, I think you should check that scar on 009’s head.” Said Albert. “It looks like something’s irritating it.” The scientist blinked before carefully taking hold of 009’s head, making the teen lean forward as he examined the scar in question. The doctor let out a soft “hmm”, tilting 009’s head slightly.

“Nothing showed up during the check, but you are right about it seeming irritated.” The doctor commented, lightly running his thumb over it much like Albert himself had done earlier. “How did you get this scar 009? It looks quite old. And such an unusual shape…” The green-eyed teen seemed to flounder for a moment before responding.

“I-I’m not really sure… I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.” He said, seeming uncomfortable. Albert raised an eyebrow at that.

“Surely your parents must have reminded you of how you got it.” The teen glanced at him.

“My parents died when I was very little. In-in a car accident. My Aunt used to say that was when I got it, but…” The room fell into an awkward silence. Albert wanted to kick himself for not considering such a thing. Of course the kid would be an orphan, Black Ghost wouldn’t risk being exposed by a kid’s parents if they went looking for him! He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry.” 009 smiled at him.

“It’s alright. You couldn’t have known.” The kid said, sounding like the topic didn’t bother him at all. The doctor cleared his throat.

“Well, nothing seems to be wrong with it. But if it stays like this, we may need to apply medicine to it. Let me know if it starts bothering you, alright 009?” 009 nodded.

“Alright. Where did you say 006 was?”

How can he just brush that off? He just admitted to not having parents, yet he’s acting like there’s nothing wrong with it! Albert watched the teen as the doctor gave him instructions to the ship’s kitchen (Why would a war ship have a kitchen? Then again, soldiers needed to eat at some point), trying to puzzle out how calm 009 was about it. Well, he did say they died when he was little, perhaps he was young enough that doesn’t remember them anymore. And it doesn’t sound like he had much of a relationship with his remaining family.

But if that were true, then 009 probably never had a parental figure while growing up. That bothered him for some reason. He followed 009 out, still in thought, but wanting to keep an eye on the teen. The green-eyed boy didn’t seem bothered by this, peering around curiously at the corridor of the ship. Albert paused as that strange almost-brush washed over him again. He glanced around, trying to find the source, but only saw himself and 009.

“004?” Albert looked up at 009. “Something wrong?” He shook his head.

“No, just thought I felt something.” Unfocused, green eyes watched him for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. I wonder what 006 managed to make? I hope it’s not more barbeque bat or snake stew.” Albert’s lips twitched, trying to hold back a smile as 009 descended into pondering mutters. The fact that 009’s eyes never focused was starting to bother him. If the kid’s eyes were like his, he could understand it, but they weren’t. A new thought popped into his mind.

Maybe 009 needed glasses? It was an idea, but he’d need Dr. Gilmore to check. For now, he’d just keep an eye on 009.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

When they’d finally arrived at Mr. Kozumi’s, it was roughly ten or eleven at night and everyone was ready to get some sleep. Even the recently awoken 009, but that had more to do with the fact that his energy levels were still pretty low. Professor Kozumi, a short, grey haired, glasses wearing man dressed in one of those green robes the Japanese always wore (they were called kimonos, if Albert remembered correctly) greeted them at the door, quickly ushering them inside as he pointed out a large number of rooms they could use. There were enough in the house for each of them to have their own room. 009 picked a room far from the rest of the group, which lead to 007 asking him why he didn’t want to be near them.

009 finally admitted to being nightmare prone (and to having bouts of insomnia), and suggested that if no one wanted to accidentally be woken by him moving around at night, they’d best choose a room away from him. Albert stowed that information away for later, it explained why he kept finding the kid in the midst of a nightmare.

Everyone picked a room (Albert ending up near 009, even with the teen’s warning ringing in his head), and collapsed into their respective beds, passing out as soon as they hit the pillows.

It felt like barely an hour when Albert woke to the sound of quiet movement outside his room. He peered blearily out the window. Huh, it looked like the sun had just started to rise, so it was roughly five or six in the morning. So he’d gotten roughly eight hours of sleep. That was good. Now though he was wondering who would be up this early. Was it 009? He didn’t mention anything about being an early riser.

He listened as a pair of surprisingly quiet footsteps padded past his door. He debated on whether or not he should get up to see who was moving around or if he should just go back to sleep. Morning hunger won the argument, leading to Albert forcing himself out of the much too comfortable bed. He’d almost forgotten how comfortable a real bed was compared to the Black Ghost soldier barracks.

Doing his best to keep his footsteps light, he dressed himself in his uniform (he’d need to get some new clothes. A lot of them would) and slipped out into the hall. It took him a few minutes to find the kitchen, but when he did, he found a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 009 smoothly bustling around. It seemed the teen had decided to make breakfast for everyone. He raised an eyebrow at the amount of bacon 009 was prepping. Along with large bowl of what looked to be some kind of batter, sitting innocently to one side.

“Morning 009, did you sleep well?” asked Albert, stifling a laugh at how high 009 jumped in his surprise. The green-eyed teen spun around to face the German. The strange almost-brush feeling from the previous day washed over him again and 009 relaxed, seeming to recognize him. The kid’s eyes still weren’t really focusing right. Albert was sure he’d need to talk to Dr. Gilmore about it.

“004! You startled me! I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“Not really,” he lied. “Just reached the point where I couldn’t sleep anymore. Are you fixing breakfast?” The teen nodded.

“Yeah, I do it a lot at my aunt and uncle’s house. And knowing how to cook is a good skill to have. I’m just trying to figure out how much to make for everyone…” Albert nodded, filing the tidbit of information away. Something bugged him about 009 saying he used to cook at his relative’s house, but at least 006 wouldn’t be the only one who could cook for the group.

“Want some help?” the older male offered. 009 hesitated for a moment.

“I wasn’t gonna make anything fancy. Just some bacon, eggs and pancakes. But… Do you know what the others like to drink?” Albert hummed thoughtfully.

“We never really had a chance to talk about likes and dislikes while we planned our rebellion from Black Ghost, but I think it’d be good to fix some basic drinks for everyone. You know- Tea, coffee, maybe some juice or milk.” 009 nodded, slowly.

“Then, could you fix those? I think I saw some coffee mix in the cabinet over there, and some of Mr. Kozumi’s tea.” The teen said, pointing out the cabinet to the silver haired man. “I think there’s a coffee pot up there too…” Albert nodded, strolling over to the cabinet and pulling out the mentioned items. It seemed that the tea pot was there too.

He paused once he had everything out. Examining the bottom of the two pots, he realized that neither had the needed set up for heating water on a stove top. 009 glanced up at him from the newly started pancakes he’d laid out on a large, electric cooking pan.

“Something wrong, 004?”

“Ah, neither of the pots are meant to be used on a stove.”

“They should be microwave safe, so just use that to heat the water.” Albert fidgeted slightly. 009 raised an eyebrow at him. “You do know how to use a microwave, right?”

“Well, no. Not really. I’m not familiar with modern kitchens.” He admitted, already preparing to have to explain what he meant to 009.

“Don’t worry, it’s really easy! See that thing with the see-through door hanging below the cabinet over there?” Albert blinked, surprised that 009 hadn’t inquired further, but began following the teen’s instructions as he told him how to work the machine in question. “Fill the first pot you want with, let’s say for this group, enough water for five cups, and put it in. The panel of numbers next to the door are for counting the number of minutes and seconds you want the thing inside to be cooked for. For five cups of water, I think about seven minutes will do. So push the “seven” button once, the “zero” button twice, then push the “start” button to get it to start cooking. See? It’s very easy to use.” Albert took a small step back after he finished.

That had been easier than he’d thought it would be. Of course there wasn’t quite enough room to put both pots in, but it was definitely an easy thing to do. He glanced over at 009, watching as the teen started cooking bacon in an ungreased pan.

“So, what did you mean by a “modern” kitchen?” The German sighed. Well, 009 had warned him that he was like a dog on a bone when it came to things he didn’t know.

“The Cyborg soldier project, the one that made us, it actually started around the middle of the Second World War. About fifty or fifty-five years ago. Maybe Sixty. The first four of us, we had been made then.” 009 jolted, nearly losing the pancake he was trying to flip.

“What?!” He gave him a sad smile.

“But we weren’t doing well, technology couldn’t pull off what Black Ghost wanted at the time, and it was having some pretty bad effects on some of us. So they used special devices to put us into a stasis. Freezing us until everything was finally up to the standard they wanted, then pulling us out to refine us. After that they started finding new people to add to the program. Be glad we pulled you out before they could start “testing” you, 009.” The teen was quiet, continuing to work even as Albert explained this to him. The teen turning over the bacon, just listening to him.

“And a lot has changed in fifty years, from what little I’ve been told by the others… For the first four of us, if we went home, there probably wouldn’t be anything familiar to us.” Albert let out a soft sigh, struggling to keep his thoughts from his home. And everything he’d lost just before he’d been taken.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” He looked over at the teen, who gave him a small smile. “I could tell by the look on your face. I hope things get better from here. For all of us.” Albert smiled slightly.

“Yeah.”

The kitchen descended into a peaceful silence, with Albert occasionally helping 009 by setting up the next thing the teen intended to make for everyone. About half-way through, Albert was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and 009 was finishing up the eggs and pancakes.

“What is that delightful aroma?” asked a new voice. Albert looked up to see 007 standing at the door, a blissful expression on his face as he sniffed the air.

“Breakfast, curtesy of 009’s cooking. It isn’t done, so I’d suggest sitting down.”

“Well, I certainly hope it tastes as good as it smells! 006’s cooking is wonderful, but nothing beats a good English breakfast!” the man cheered. Ah, right, since he and 009 had similar accents and facial structures, they were probably from the same country. “What? No hash browns?”

“Mr. Kozumi doesn’t have the ingredients for Hash Browns. So we’ll have to make do without them.” 009 said, glancing back at 007. Albert watched as the bald man slumped slightly. “I was able to make pancakes though.” The man lit up at that. Slowly the rest of the team trickled in, drawn by the smell of 009’s cooking, right down to Dr. Gilmore and Professor Kozumi. Even 006 seemed to find the smell enticing enough to not be bothered by the fact that he wasn’t the one to cook breakfast.

009 put the final plate down on the table, giving a small smile to everyone.

“Well, eat up. We don’t want it to get cold.” Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the room, everyone digging in as 009 settled in the only open seat, which happened to be right next to Professor Kozumi. Albert took a test bite of the pancake, slathered in a generous amount of butter, and hummed in appreciation.

“This is well done, 009.” He complimented, nodding in thanks to the teen.

“Yes! Just splendid!” cheered 007, a wide smile stretching his features. “Thank you for doing this for us!” 009 dipped his head, a faint flush visible on his cheeks, as the sentiment was echoed down the table.

“N-not a problem…” The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, mostly because no one was sure what to say. At least they weren’t talking about Black Ghost.

“Uh… Doctor?” said 009, drawing attention to himself. “Do you know if-if our stuff is on the ship? The ones that were taken from us?” Dr. Gilmore nodded.

“Yes, they should be. We’ll check after breakfast to ensure everyone has their belongings. Though I fear only the more recent members will find their possessions beyond what they’d been wearing when they were taken by Black Ghost.” 009 nodded quietly.

Albert couldn’t help hoping that his engagement ring would be among the things on the ship.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

To everyone’s relief it seemed that the scientists had been successful in loading their belongings onto the stolen ship. Their clothes and personal items had been put into small cases, with their cyborg numbers printed onto the side. No one spoke of the extra cases that may have once belonged to the now deceased men who’d orchestrated their escape, though Albert had spotted the sad look 009 had shot at them. Albert bit back a sigh as he dug through the small case of his original belongings that the rebelling scientists had hidden in the ship. While he may have regained all the possessions he’d had from when he’d first been abducted, they were far from good condition. They were slightly torn and sported old singe marks, but at least someone had cleaned the bloodstains off of them.

He glanced up at the small sigh of relief he’d heard from 009. The green eyed teen was holding a thin, lacquered stick. It was long (maybe eleven inches), and looked almost like it was made from Holly. 005 walked by, temporarily blocking his line of sight, and when he passed the strange stick 009 had been holding was gone. The older man frowned, shaking his head. It was a stick. There was no need for him to focus on it.

So why did he feel there was something important about it?

“Something wrong, 004?” asked Dr. Gilmore. Grey eyes glanced at the man. Well, now was as good a time as any to inform the Doctor of his thoughts.

“Have you noticed that something seems off about 009’s eyes? They don’t seem to focus when he’s looking at anyone. It’s almost like he needs glasses.” Dr. Gilmore hummed thoughtfully, quietly eyeing 009 as the teen rummaged through his belongings (Had the boy really been wearing those ratty looing clothes when he was taken?).

“I think I can see what you mean 004. Though I’m not sure how we could take him to an Optometrist and have his eyes checked. I don’t have a copy of his medical records, not to mention that he isn’t a Japanese citizen.”

“Perhaps I can help.” The two looked back, where Professor Kozumi stood behind them with a small smile on his face. “I’m sure my own eye doctor won’t mind having a look at 009’s eyes. We can say they went missing while you were here and that he needs new ones. While we’re at it, we can get some new, clean clothing for everyone.”

“What about money? We can’t expect you to pay for everything.” Kozumi chuckled.

“We’ll just call it an IOU for now. You can pay me back for it later.”

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

They hadn’t mentioned to 009 why they were headed to the town now instead of later, all three of them were sure he would either deny that he needed glasses or he’d say it wasn’t important. He had no idea what 002 thought was going on.

Albert watched 009 out of the corner of his eye as he drove one of the cars owned by Professor Kozumi, with Dr. Gilmore riding in the back between 002 and Professor Kozumi himself. The teen was gazing out the window quietly, just watching the scenery as it passed. He looked strangely fascinated when they’d entered the town proper. Professor Kozumi spoke up, giving Albert instructions for where to turn to get to their destination. Albert made a few small frustrated noises over the lack of parking spaces (were all Japanese towns like this?).

Finally finding a space, Albert parked. They carefully ignored the stares as Kozumi led them into the office. The entrance area was small and humble, with glass doors leading inside, with clean peach colored interior designs giving the place a warm, calm atmosphere. Pale peach seats were pushed up against one wall, with a coffee table covered in magazines in front of it. A young lady was sitting behind what Albert presumed was the check in counter, she looked up at them as the bell up by the door rang. She greeted the Professor with a bright smile.

“Hello Kozumi-san! What brings you here today?” Kozumi smiled.

“Good day, Nana-chan, I would like to speak with Kimura-sensei about an eye test for one of my companions.” Albert saw 002 and 009 blink in surprise. Obviously 002 hadn’t been informed of why they’d left.

“Of course sir. Could I have the name of our patient?” They paused.

_Crap, we don’t actually know 009’s name. He was only ever introduced to us as 009. How do we cover for this?_ A soft sigh came from 009.

“Potter.” Albert looked back to 009, who looked both tired and amused. Ah, seems he figured it out on his own. “Harry Potter.” Kozumi nodded. Albert couldn’t help thinking that 009’s name was surprisingly normal, though he really wasn’t one to judge.

“Put it in as Potter, Harry.” The young woman nodded and started typing in the computer.

“British?” she asked, her tone pleasant. 009 nodded. “Neat, Kimura-sensei has a cousin working on a medical degree over there. Says most of the time the weather’s awful, but the people are pretty nice.” 009 nodded again, a small, polite smile on his face. Miss Nana then went on to chat about what she’d heard Britten was like, but most of them were yes or no questions, meaning 009 didn’t reveal that, technically, he couldn’t speak Japanese.

The door behind the desk opened and a dark-haired man in a white coat stepped out. His hair was a dark blue-black and his eyes a warm, friendly shade of brown. His demeanor was warm and pleasant as he approached the group.

“Ah, Kozumi-san. Good to see you again, I trust that nothing’s happened for you to need new glasses so soon?”

“Same to you, Kimura-sensei. And no, not for myself at least. You see, my friend, Gilmore-hakase brought some acquaintances of his to visit, but it seems some of their luggage was lost during the trip. And this young man’s glasses,” here the professor gestured to 009, “were among the item’s lost. I was hoping you’d check his prescription so we could get a new pair for him.”

“009 needs glasses?” 002 muttered in confusion, but he was quickly hushed by Dr. Gilmore.

“Alright, and what is my patient’s name?”

“Potter, Harry.” The Doctor paused, his eyes focusing on 009. For just a moment, his eye flicked up to 009’s forehead, recognition briefly flashing through his eyes. But it was gone almost as quickly as it came, making Albert frown in confusion. Why had the man recognized 009? Had they met before? But 009 didn’t seem to know him.

“I see, well then Potter-san, please follow me for a moment.” Albert sat down as 009 was led into the back room, Dr. Gilmore settling next to him. Kozumi struck up a conversation with Nana, leaving her sufficiently distracted.

“Doctor, did you notice that Mr. Kimura seemed to recognize 009?” Albert asked, keeping his voice low just in case. The elderly man hummed quietly.

“Yes, yes I did. But only he only took notice of him after he’d heard 009’s name. And, unless I’m mistaken, he also looked for that odd scar on 009’s head. Yet 009 doesn’t seem to know him.” He said softly, stroking his beard. “But he isn’t connected to Black Ghost, otherwise he would have recognized us the moment he saw us.” Albert nodded at that.

“Then how the heck does that cat know 009?” asked 002. The doctor sighed.

“I don’t know.”

It wasn’t much later that the doctor came out and asked to speak with Professor Kozumi and Dr. Gilmore. With Gilmore’s okay, Albert and 002 followed along. Kimura sighed, after the door to the back room was closed.

“I have to admit, I’m a little surprised by the state of Potter-san’s eyes. You were right that he needs glasses.” 002 frowned, raising an eyebrow at them.

“Aw c’mon, his eyes can’t be that bad.”

“You’re right, they aren’t bad,” said Dr. Kimura, “They’re terrible. Potter-san is far sighted, meaning he can only see things as are a fair distance from himself. At the range he can see, things like reading and writing are definitely beyond him. The closer it is to him, the harder it is for him to see it.” The man shook his head with a sigh. “I left him in the frame room, but I think you ought to have someone else pick them for him.”

Albert hid a cringe. He’d thought there was something wrong with 009’s eyes, but he hadn’t thought it would be something that bad.

“I’ll check on Ze- ah, Harry then, why don’t you talk about pricing the glasses, Professor.” He said. The doctor pointed down the hall, telling him which room to head for. He trotted down, 002 behind him, and stepped into the room. 009 was quietly browsing through the various frames, occasionally picking one up and running his fingers over them.

“Damn it 009, you should have said something if you couldn’t see!” 002 snapped, making 009 jolt in surprise and whip around to face them. The strange almost-brush feeling returned and 009 calmed down. The teen ducked his head and muttered,

“I never really had time…” 009 had a point there. Between being attacked by Black Ghost, escaping from island X, and passing out during their trip to Professor Kozumi’s, 009 really hadn’t had any time to tell them that he was having trouble seeing. And even if he tried, they were too distracted to listen. Albert looked over to the handful of frames set on the table near a mirror. 009 must have picked them out. All of them were thick, black (or dark brown) frames with the only real differences being their shapes. One circle, two oval, and three rectangular rims.

“Why did you only pick the ones with thick frames?” he found himself asking.

“They’re less likely to break. With all the fighting we seem to do, it seemed practical.” Albert nodded, picking up one of the rectangular frames. He was keeping in mind that their fight with Black Ghost wasn’t over yet, and trying to plan ahead for it. Smart Kid.

“Have you tried any on yet?”

“Yeah. I don’t really know how I look, but I know which ones feel comfortable when I put them on.” He watched 009 pick up a set of thick framed, half-moon style glasses. The teen ran his fingers over the frames (Albert could only assume he was using his sense of touch to examine them), then carefully slipped them on his face. Green eyes blinked and 009 tilted his head a few different ways, probably testing how they felt, before nodding. Albert hummed thoughtfully. The half-moons looked good on 009, and he said as much.

“Do they?” 009 asked, fiddling with them slightly. “I can’t tell, but they do feel comfortable.”

“At least he doesn’t look like a Dip stick.” Muttered 002 from his position against one of the walls. They heard a chuckle from the door, looking up they saw Kozumi, Dr. Gilmore, and Dr. Kimura standing there.

“I guess those are the winning pair.” Said professor Kozumi, smiling. “Kimura-sensei, we’ll take the style of frame Potter-kun has on now. And maybe a second pair, just in case.” Kozumi pointedly ignored 009’s interjection of “You don’t need to do that sir!” as Doctor Kimura nodded.

“A sensible plan,” said Dr. Kimura. He calmly approached 009 and plucked the frames off of his face. “I’ll get started now, they should be ready in ten or fifteen minutes.” Albert watched the Doctor leave with 009’s soon-to-be new glasses.

Honestly, 009 was a walking mystery. And something told him that he needed to keep a close eye on him to find out what it was he was hiding. Albert just hoped it wouldn’t be something that would come back to bite them when they least expected it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to tell you guys, in this story there won't be a Christmas episode like in the 2001 Anime. Since there's no Joe, and the pairing isn't Harry/Franciose(003), I'm not going to put it in.


	4. The Assassin of Flash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry knows they haven't defeated Black Ghost, they only delayed him at best, but there are few things he hates more that knowing there's danger and not being able to do anything about it. They're in the calm before the storm, but that won't last forever.
> 
> But when the Lightning finally strikes, will they be able to face it?

# Chapter 4: The Assassin of Flash

Harry leaned back on his hands at the edge of the cliff by Professor Kozumi’s house, his feet dangling lazily over the edge. He’d honestly been startled when he first put on his new glasses, he knew his previous pair hadn’t been perfect for him, but he hadn’t thought the world was that different from what he’d been able to see. It had taken a lot of self-control to not stare at everything like a wide-eyed little kid.

Finding out that Doctor Kimura was a wizard had caught him by surprise, but the man was nice and professional about meeting Europe’s Boy-Who-Lived. It turned out his reputation wasn’t as big a deal in Japan as back home. The only reason Dr. Kimura even knew about his was due to his cousin who had been working on his medical degree in England instead of Japan. The man had even offered to put high-level protective charms on Harry’s glasses, so long as Harry gave him his signature (written and magical) so he could pull the money for it from his Gringotts account.

He could only hope the charms were strong enough to withstand cyborg level combat. Not that he had any plans to test that.

And the first time he’d seen his reflection he hadn’t recognized himself. Apparently the Black Ghost scientists had done more than just make him a cyborg, they’d somehow made him look old enough to pass himself off as being “of-age” (Among wizards at least. He was pretty sure 21 was legal age for non-magicals), and like he hadn’t spent his formative years being starved by the Dursleys. He actually looked healthy for once! He could only guess that they felt having too many “under-age” (or un-healthy looking) cyborgs would hamper their ability to sell them off as weapons. He couldn’t decide if this was a good thing or a bad one.

He was still pretty short though, standing at roughly 167 cm [5ft 5in] (he’d snuck out of his room a few nights ago to find out, it was one of those nights where he couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard he tried), but it was better than nothing. He still had all of his scars, like the bite he’d gotten from the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, and the cut on his right forearm that Wormtail AKA Peter Pettigrew had given him while reviving Voldemort (he suppressed a shiver at the memory). A small, depressing side of his mind was glad for this, as it kept him from forgetting that he was a wizard. Something that was easy to do when you were surrounded by people without magic, and weren’t using it on a near daily basis.

Harry closed his eyes, listening to the water crashing against the rocks below, not caring that the new clothes he’d gotten during their last trip into town (a plain, grey long-sleeve shirt with a dark green, collared, zip-up vest thrown over it and dark blue jeans) were getting dirty. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this relaxed.

A small part of him felt guilty about being able to enjoy this peace when he knew the Wizarding world could be suffering from Voldemort’s return, but there was little he could do without revealing himself to the group as a wizard. He doubted they would take it well if he just walked up and told them that not only was magic real, but he could use it, and that the British magicals were on the cusp of war and that he had a key part in it. It was hard enough trying to dodge Dr. Gilmore’s attempts to study his magic (not that the scientist knew it was magic) without arousing too much suspicion.

Although 004 seemed to understand that Harry had his reasons for not wanting to reveal to much about his natural powers, and would usually help him escape the determined doctor.

How would they even handle the thought that magic existed? Let alone that he was a wizard? Would they react like the Creevey’s parents and just accept that he was different? Would they react like Hermione’s family and just have this unspoken tension between them all? Or would they react like the Dursleys and reject him for being able to do things that they couldn’t do? He let out a sigh, trying to ignore the twinge of pain in his chest at the thought of his new friends (Companions? Acquaintances? Something else?) hating him for something beyond his control.

And that wasn’t even touching the mass segregation between those from magical and non-magical families. That would be an invitation for disaster, considering the era four of the other cyborgs were from.

He could faintly hear 002 complaining about something from the balcony above him (the red-haired American did that a lot, he’d found. Complain, that is), but he paid little attention to it. He probably wanted to try and mount an assault against Black Ghost, again. Honestly, did he think defeating people like them would be easy?

Professor Kozumi was such a kind man, letting them stay with him for so long without asking them to help or do anything for him. In fact, he seemed happy about having them there. Maybe he missed having his family living with him, he’d mentioned having one. So far, they’d been living with him for nearly three weeks straight, but the man had yet to complain about their presence. Harry opened his eyes, and paused.

In the distance were bright red clouds. Normally, as it was evening, this would be a good omen. “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight” as the saying went. But something about the way the scarlet clouds twisted angrily against the sky in the distance, looking like vicious claws, sent spirals of anxiety through Harry’s body and sent his nerves on edge. He couldn’t help remembering a phrase he’d always heard in the world of magic, and found himself whispering it out loud.

“Something wicked this way comes.”

.

~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

The afternoon passed quietly into the evening, which only served to make Harry even more anxious as he waited for the storm to finally hit. Even the other cyborgs were starting to pick up that something was off, though none of them knew what.

Harry leaned against the wall next to 004, fingering the make-shift wand holster hidden under his shirt sleeve (ah, duct tape, truly it’s uses were endless) and watching 002 pace angrily in front of the drawing room balcony. The red head turned to the room with a snarl.

“How long do you plan to sit around here, doing nothing? Tell me that!” the American said, his voice a mix between angry and frustrated. “We have the means. We’ve already stolen one of their warships. It’s armed and ready to go, let’s use it to our advantage! Let’s find Black Ghost’s headquarters and attack!” Harry stomped down on the urge to roll his eyes at 002’s determination to take the fight to Black Ghost. He would talk about it at nearly every chance he got. He could understand that the American wanted go out and actually do something other than wait for the danger to come to them.

“I don’t want to fight anymore.” Came the soft, strained voice of 003. She hunched slightly in her seat, her shoulders shaking with suppressed emotion. “Why do we have to fight anyway? Is it because we’re cyborgs? Is the world so helpless that it can’t even defend itself?” Harry couldn’t help remembering all the times he’d asked himself that when he was at Hogwarts.

_It’s not that were the only ones who can fight, it’s that we’re the only ones who know that there’s a need to fight._ Harry thought to himself as 003 started crying. _It’s never fair, but that that’s just how it is. People won’t see what they don’t want to see._

“Let somebody else be responsible for once! I’m tired of this!” 003 sobbed out, dropping her face in her hands. As if she thought showing her tears was a shameful act.

“I feel the same way.” Said 007 with a sigh, tugging at his already loose tie. “But all were doing right now is planning our strategy.” The actor paused, before nervously asking, “Uh, by the way, what was it?” 002 ‘tsked’ in frustration.

“Let’s stop talking and _do_ something! Alright?” He looked around the room, obviously waiting for someone to jump up and agree with him. No one moved, their heads down and their voices silent. Harry could see him gritting his teeth in frustration, his hands clenching at his sides. “Fine, I’ll go out there and take on the Black Ghost myself!”

“I’ll be sure to send flowers to your funeral.” Harry muttered, his patience worn thin by both his nerves and 002’s complaints. Unfortunately, the red-head heard him.

“What was that, 009?” snapped the red-head, his brown eyes fixing onto Harry’s green ones. In the past, Harry would have immediately backed down upon being confronted, too used to bowing down to the wills of others to bother fighting back. But this time, he felt himself straightening his back and digging in his heels. He needed to at least make sure 002 knew the risks of his plan, before needing someone else to race after him to keep him alive. (Like he always had to do with Ron.)

“Use your head 002, how much do you think one person can accomplish against the veritable army Black Ghost has? The only result I can think of is becoming a martyr. And considering that most people don’t even know that Black Ghost exists, that won’t do any good.” He could tell by the look on 002’s face that he’d caught him flat-footed.

“009’s right, attacking blindly is pointless.” Said 004. “We’re only going to be effective if we have a solid plan.” 002 seemed to shake himself off before snarkily responding to 004.

“And what plan have you two developed it those empty spaces you call brains? Come on, tell us. I’m sure it’s something brilliant!” He said sarcastically. Harry started bristling at 002, green eyes narrowing dangerously in frustration.

“It’s Moo-Goo-Pao-Pan!”

Harry jolted in surprise, whipping around. There stood 006, brandishing a large, steaming pan of what looked to be fried rice topped with veggies, chunks of meat and shrimp, and a thick sauce. He wasn’t really sure what it was, but smelled delicious. The cook chuckled pleasantly at the look Harry gave the pan.

“In English that means it’s something hot and gooey cooked in a pan!” He was sure 006 was kidding, but that didn’t stop the food from smelling good. The rest of the room was either quiet or staring 006 with blank expressions. “Wow! Tough room. I think I better serve this later.” Harry stomped down on the urge to pout. That food smelled good, and now that he was finally getting used to eating healthy meals on a regular basis, he really wanted some.

“Wait. Try to calm down, 002.” Dr. Gilmore said, standing up. “You’re never going to get close enough to the Black Ghost to eliminate him, I can assure you of that.” Harry knew that too. He’d seen the man that must’ve headed the Black Ghost, Skull as Commander Scarl had called him, the one who could appear and disappear like an illusion. “I was part of the Palace Guard, so to speak, and in all that time I never once saw him in person. His personal security’s very tight.”

“We don’t have to worry about going after them.” Said 004, leaning back against the wall. “They’ll come after us. We betrayed them, and that isn’t acceptable. They’ll want revenge.” Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets.

He hated this kind of thing. He hated knowing that there was danger out there but being unable to do anything but wait for it to come. It was like his second year all over again, but without the accusing stares of his classmates or the pompous fop claiming to help him with his “fame”.

The lights in the room flickered, quickly and efficiently catching Harry’s attention. Once, twice, three times, then they went out. Harry’s gut wrenched, as 006 muttered something about a power failure. He felt 004 shift next to him, raising his gun hand up. He started fingering the tip of his wand, bracing to whip it out and counter attack if it was needed.

The handle of the closed door behind 006 rattled slightly, setting the room on edge. Abruptly, the door creaked open, the light of a candle drifting through the widening crack, eerily illuminating Professor Kozumi’s features as he stepped into the room. 006 yelped in surprise, accidentally throwing the food he’d made into the air, sending Moo-Goo-Pao-Pan all over the place, and somehow getting the pan to land on his head. This time Harry really did pout over the loss of food.

“Oh, Kozumi!” gasped doctor Gilmore, a hand resting over his heart. Clearly he wasn’t the only one on edge right then. The bearded man chuckled.

“Sorry about the lights. The wiring’s pretty old in here.”

“Jeez,” muttered 002. “We almost jumped out of our skins!”

“Or from the frying pan into the fire.” 006 said forlornly, looking around at what remained of the group’s dinner. He wiped some of the rice from his nose and licked it off his finger. “At least it was good while it lasted.” Harry let out a small chuckle. A powerful gust of wind blew the balcony curtains open and sent 007’s manuscripts flying about the room. 003 jolted.

“Someone’s coming!” she gasped and Harry felt his insides vanish. Lightning flashed momentarily lighting the room as he finally removed his wand from its hiding place, but kept his arm down so it wouldn’t be noticed.

“Did they find us?” asked 008, leaning closer to 003. The blonde put a hand to her head.

“I’m not positive, but something’s wrong. I’m sensing danger nearby!” She said, a touch of franticness in her tone.

“Somehow, I’m not surprised.” Harry said, his voice soft, his insides having returned full of led. Dread was now coiling in his gut.

“How many are there?” asked 004.

“And where?” asked 002. “Which direction are they coming from?” 003 closed her eyes, one hand lightly pressed against her head.

“They’re coming from the southwest. About 1,200 meters. Wait, I’m sensing two-, no only one.” 002 let out a short laugh.

“Just one? That’s hardly worth our time. I’ll get rid of him.” 002 said with a self-confident chuckle. He turned to the open balcony.

“Ah, 002!” called Dr. Gilmore. With a leap, 002 kicked on his leg thrusters and took to the air, undoubtedly headed to take on their mystery foe. “Wait! You don’t know what’s out there!”

“You can’t talk sense to him when he’s like this, Doc. You stay here, we’ll bring him back in.” 004’s crystal blue eyes met with Harry’s emerald ones and the two shared a nod. The black haired teen plodded after the German, silently listening as the others followed after them.

Speed changing into this cyborg uniform, Harry hurried after 002. For someone like Skull (Black Ghost, whatever) to only send one person meant that either he was underestimating them, or this one person was incredibly powerful. Harry had learned that much from his struggles against Voldemort. People like them only struck if they fully believed that they could win.

The wizard sprinted ahead of the rest of the group, knowing that there was no way this would be an easy battle. Green eyes widened in shock and worry when they landed on the red-haired figure laying on the rocky ground.

“002!”

“Watch out! Stay back, he’s on top of the ridge!” Harry stopped, turning his eyes upward to the almost glowing figure standing on the rocks above them. The wizard bristled at the red-eyed gaze staring down at him from a glowing, pale face. 003 rushed past him, kneeling down by the injured 002.

“Who are you?” He called. A sinister smirk curled the lips of the strange person.

“Who am I? I’ll tell you, I’m 0010!” He proclaimed loudly.

“So… You’re like us. Another Cyborg.” Harry said, his voice low.

“There are more 00 cyborgs out there that we don’t know about?” asked 008. Harry wasn’t too surprised by this. Megalomaniacs like Black Ghost had a habit of planning for just about every scenario. The other cyborg, 0010, chuckled.

“That’s right. Strictly speaking, I suppose you could say we’re like brothers.”

“Like brothers?” whispered 003. “If we’re brothers, why are we fighting? We’re not your enemy! We were generated from the same place. There must be a way we can work this out!” Part of Harry wanted to point out that being family didn’t stop some people from trying to kill each other, the wizarding world was a prime example of that, but kept his mouth shut. He felt the air shift and the glow around 0010 brightened.

“Watch out!” 004 shouted, but it was too late. A streak of lightning shot from 0010’s body and hit 003, who screamed in agony as she was blasted off her feet. Harry gasped and dove for cover.

Harry watched as the others attacked 0010, only for each attempt to end with them being injured by the enemy cyborg. 0010 had a terrible advantage over them. He could use electricity as a weapon, and part of their bodies were made of metal. Meaning any time 0010’s attacks hit them, the damage was doubled by the make-up of their bodies. And not to mention it messed up the electric flow in their own bodies, both natural and un-natural. He gritted his teeth, wincing when 004 was hit (the German man had the most metal in his body compared to the rest of the group, which meant he’d probably taken the most damage. Especially since he was hit twice), and raced over to check the man’s vitals. They were faint, but thankfully still present.

Harry knew he was good at planning, but how could he pull a win from this?

His magic could only do so much, and there was still the chance he may hurt one of the others (or even himself) if he used it. Magic wasn’t supposed to work well with technology, even if it hadn’t caused him any problems thus far.

“You’re the only one left.”

Harry turned to face his opponent, eyes narrowed in fury and concentration. He refused to lose this fight, he would not allow the lives of the others to be taken. He hit the acceleration switch in his teeth and moved.

“Go ahead!” laughed 0010 with a vicious grin on his face, and suddenly he was right beside Harry. The wizard stomped down on the urge to curse. 0010 had an acceleration switch too. It seemed magic was his only option left, it was the only thing Black Ghost couldn’t mimic. But he'd have to time everything just so. He yanked out his blaster and fired, hoping to make an opening in 0010’s guard. The electric cyborg dodged, and struck him with a bolt of lightning.

Harry couldn’t stop the scream of pain that tore from his throat as he felt the electricity rip through his body. Skidding across the ground on his back, he was acutely aware of the rocks digging into him. He could feel his magic kick into overdrive to mend the damage enough for him to get to his feet again. The wizard heard 002 weakly call his number, only to groan in pain as 0010 stomped on his hand.

“No matter how hard you struggle, none of you are able to beat me. And here’s the reason why,” said 0010. A small part of Harry was surprised by how un-mocking 0010’s tone was. “I took your data from the file and overcame your strengths by developing each one more efficiently. Truly, I’m your brother from hell!”

“Doesn’t it mean anything at all that your masters don’t care what happens to you?” 003 asked weakly. Harry had to admire her determination to talk sense to 0010, to save him from himself. But something told the wizard that it wouldn’t work, 0010 felt incomplete. Like something was missing from his energy. “Are you aware of how cruel and vicious the Black Ghost organization really is? These people have no mercy. They even kill their friends when they no longer serve a purpose! How can you be loyal to someone who doesn’t care about you?”

“What an annoying creature you are! Trying to appeal to my humanity when there’s not a shred left!” snarled 0010, as something about his demeanor seemed to twist dangerously. “You’re useless! I’ll end you first! Do you have anything to say to your friends before I vaporize you?”

“Yeah, ever play Field Hockey?” Harry shouted, hitting the switch in his mouth. Then, praying that his insane idea would work, he hit the switch a second time. He knew 0010 had heard him and hit his own switch, yet his was still moving at a crawl. Good, that meant his insane plan did have merit. Harry pulled his magic up as a shield against 0010’s electrified body, and used his speed and weight to body-check the cyborg away from 003. The wizard firmly planted his feet, pulling his wand from its hiding place in his sleeve, but holding it in his left hand, while his right held onto his ray-gun.

“You’re just postponing the inevitable. You can’t stop me, 009. Just surrender to your fate.”

“009, don’t! If you accelerate anymore your body will fall apart on you.” 003 said from her place on the ground, her tone heavy with worry. Green-eyes narrowed and a grim smirk pulled at his lips while he pointedly ignored the way his body shook.

“Thanks for the information, 003. But, if I’m going to die, I’d rather go out with a bang than a whimper. Just don’t expect it to be easy, 0010.” A strange look came over 0010’s features, but he nodded.

“Then you’ll be the first, but certainly not the last. Are you ready to go?”

_Click!_ The switch was hit, and they were off.

“It’s a waste of time! I told you before. My power far surpasses yours. I can easily keep up with you without even breaking a sweat.” Harry smirked.

“Yeah, but can you do this? _BOMBARDA!_ ” The blasting hex tore through the accelerated space, only just missing 0010, but ripped apart the ground where it hit. Red-eyes widened in shock. Harry knew that, technically, his spell wasn’t very high powered, so he was going to make up for it by pushing as much power as he could into the spells on his own. It would cause him to burn out quickly, but hopefully he’d be able to beat 0010 before then.

“How- ah yes, your power. I read about that, too, but it won’t help you!” Harry didn’t respond, firing off another over-powered hex instead. A cutting hex this time. Again, 0010 moved to dodge it, only to be struck by the magnum shot fired from Harry’s ray-gun.

The pale cyborg cursed, wrenching away from Harry, gripping his now injured shoulder. He glared at Harry, eyes glowing. A bolt of lightning shot out.

“ _Pretago Maxima!_ ” a pale, somewhat crystalline shield appeared between Harry and 0010’s attack. To Harry’s relief, the spell withstood the attack, though he could _feel_ the strain it was under. 0010 launched himself at Harry as soon as the barrier dropped, but was thrown back by a banishing charm. The Cyborg snarled in frustration.

He smirked suddenly. 0010’s glow sharpened, and Harry threw himself back, expecting to dodge an attack. Instead the electric powered cyborg gave off a flash like a signal flare, temporarily blinding Harry. Once he finally blinked the spots from his eyes, the wizard realized 0010 was gone.

“What?! Where could he…” 

Harry froze, a chill going down his spine, and twisted to look behind him. 0010 gave him a cold smile from a scant few feet behind Harry, and blasted him in the back sending him sprawling at the edge of the cliff. Slowly, he pushed himself up. He groaned in pain as his aching body protested against the movement, his magic fighting to mend and maintain his body.

“You’re a brave fool, 009. Your powers are impressive, but your acceleration power is limited. Especially if you use it continuously. Didn’t the professor mention that to you?” Panting heavily, Harry raised his wand. 0010’s body lit up, and blasted the wizard with lightning before he could defend himself, sending him over the edge. Harry felt the wind rush past him, barely able to remain awake.

_Why am I always falling from high places?_ Wondered a small, unfocused part of his mind. _Every year I’m sent falling from some dangerously high place. Though usually I’m playing Quidditch when I fall._ Pain rushed up his spine as he hit a hard, flat rock at the base of the cliff, spurring another cry of agony from him.

He laid there, struggling to regain his bearings. Feeling the spray of waster as the tide splashed against the rock he was laying on.

“Well, well. I see you survived the fall.” Green-eyes cracked open to look at the speaker. 0010 stood over him, a frown on his face. “Too bad you won’t survive our next encounter.” Harry huffed weakly, trying to push himself up. He felt something cold and wet hit his cheek. A rain drop. Then another fell. And another. The skies seemed to open up, as a steady shower of rain fell from the skies. 0010 hummed in frustration, his perpetual glow fading. “Luck seems to be on your side today, 009. But I’ll be back to finish you.” He vanished.

Harry flopped down onto his back, looking up at the cloudy sky high above him.

“Thank you, Gaia…” he whispered, and darkness finally claimed him.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

Albert wasn’t sure how long he’d been out, after being blasted by 0010. He just knew that, when he’d come around, everyone was laying battered and beaten on the ground and both 0010 and 009 were missing. Rain fell steadily around them, slowly rousing everyone from unconsciousness.

“003…” he whispered weakly. “Where’s 009?” The French woman looked over at him.

“I-I don’t know. He was fighting 0010 and led him away from us, but I lost sight of them just before the rain started.” She said, her voice trembling with worry. He stomped down on the urge to curse. That wasn’t good, not at all. They had to find 009, he couldn’t take 0010 on alone and expect to win. A hoot cut through the rain, drawing their attention to one of the rocks high above their heads.

Looking imperiously down at them, was an owl. Snowy white feathers glistening in the darkness, the bird stood out sharply against the dark sky behind it. It hooted again, swooping to a rock closer to them. Albert could faintly see a red and gold collar of sorts wrapped around the owls’ neck. Did that mean it was someone’s pet? He’d heard of people having exotic pets, but owls were a new one to him. The others were slowly pulling themselves off the ground, either trying to find some sign of 009 or staring at their feathered guest with curiosity in their eyes. Albert let out a sardonic chuckle, still looking at the owl from where he was sitting.

“I don’t suppose you know where 009 is, do you?” he asked with tired humor. He heard 002 snort, but his attention was on the owl. The owl let out an almost thoughtful sounding hoot, then bobbed its’ head at him. As if it were nodding. The group had gone very quiet. _I can’t believe I’m doing this, but if this bird really can understand me…_ “Can you lead us to him?”

The bird bobbed its head again and took to the air, gliding past the cyborgs and landing on the ground. It hobbled forward a few steps before looking back at them. He could swear it looked like it was saying “Well? Are you coming or what?”

“That isn’t an ordinary owl.” 005 said shortly, hauling himself to his feet. Albert followed his lead, forcing himself up and stumbling after the Snowy owl.

“Where are you two going? There’s no way some bird could lead us to 009!” 002 snapped. He looked back at the American.

“It’s better than just sitting in the mud hoping 009 will show up on his own.” 008 nodded grimly.

“Yeah, besides, I don’t want to be here incase 0010 decides to come back.” This time the owl took to the air and stayed there, occasionally looping back to ensure they could keep pace with it.

Suddenly it dove, landing at the edge of the cliff and picking up something in its’ beak. The bird looked back at them, and Albert saw the strange stick he’d seen 009 carrying around being carefully gripped in the owl’s beak.

003 raced forward, kneeling down to safely look over the edge. She gasped.

“009!” The German man could feel his heart plummet. 0010 had knocked 009 over the cliff? Was he okay? Did 0010 finish him off? He saw 002 use his thrusters to fly over the edge and, presumably, down to where 009 was. He felt a weight land on his shoulder, and heard a muffled hoot in his ear. He turned his head to the owl, who’d perched himself on his shoulder.

No, make that “her”, she’d perched _herself_ on his shoulder. At this range he couldn’t pull his eyes from her large, intelligent, amber eyes. She hooted at him a second time, then brandished the polished stick at him, making him blink in surprise. Gingerly, Albert took it from her. Whatever it was, it seemed important to 009, so he’d hold onto it until the teen was able to take it back from him.

“Danke, fraulien eule.” He murmured to the owl. She seemed to preen slightly at his thanks. He looked back at the cliff edge as 002 shot up from behind it, 009 hanging limply in his arms.

“Is he okay?” asked 008.

“I can’t tell. He looks pretty roughed up, but it doesn’t look like he’s gonna bite it yet.”

“We need to get him to Dr. Gilmore. We don’t know if he has any internal injuries from fighting 0010.” He said, his metal fist clenching, while his flesh hand kept a careful grip on 009’s strange possession. “002, you’re the fastest among us right now, take 009 and fly ahead of us. We’ll meet you at Professor Kozumi’s.” The red head nodded, adjusting his grip on 009 and taking to the air. He looked around. “Come on, let’s go.”

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

## ~~OMAKE~~ (because this chapter isn’t long enough for my satisfaction)

### ~Hermione’s Plight~

Hermione slammed a book down on a table in the library, muttering a half-hearted apology to Madam Pince. The woman watched her for a moment, a sad look on her face, but for once she didn’t reprimand the girl for her rough handling of the school books.

_I can’t believe them!_ She thought furiously. _Harry’s been missing for nearly a year now and they still haven’t launched an investigation! How could they just act like nothing’s wrong?! And that horrible Umbridge woman! What on earth is the Ministry thinking?_

It was a small comfort to know that she wasn’t the only one questioning the Ministry anymore. When the wards around privet drive had gone down, Hermione was among the first people to hear that Harry had gone missing. The Order of the Phoenix, a resistance group founded by Professor Dumbledore during the first war against Voldemort, had taken her in earlier in the summer. “For her Protection” since she was a muggleborn and one of Harry’s friends. She’d felt so frustrated when the Headmaster had essentially put her, Ron, and Harry on an information lockdown. They couldn’t even tell Harry that there was something being done!

Then that idiot Mundungus Fletcher left Harry unguarded so he could buy a bunch of stolen cauldrons (How could Dumbledore have ever trusted the man?) and Harry was attacked by Dementors! (Dementors! In Little Whinging!) Why hadn’t anything been done? Mrs. Figg, a squib who’d lived in the same town as Harry since he was a baby, had even seen them!

She’d said that right after Harry had chased off the Dementors, a black car (which, with Hermione’s help, they had found out it was a 1995 Lincoln Town Car, fresh off the market with how clean it was) pulled up to the end of the ally between Magnolia Crescent and Privet Drive and two men dressed from head to toe in black had stepped out. She’d said they’d grabbed Harry, put some sort of mask over his face, and pulled him into the car. Rather forcefully, if Mrs. Figg’s description was anything to go by.

She’d hoped that, upon entering Hogwarts, someone would give her good news regarding her missing friend. But it wasn’t so. All she’d heard from her fellow students were disses and insults aimed at her friend, and a growing rift between Ron and herself.

This was made worse by the ministry plant known as Dolores Jane Umbridge, who subtly encouraged the dislike towards Harry. And her quiet plotting had worked, until one quiet little Ravenclaw girl suddenly walked up to Hermione and loudly asked, in the middle of a school dinner, why Harry hadn’t been seen for nearly two months even though school had started and it was well known that he didn’t like his muggle relatives. Hermione, worry, stress, and hurt finally reaching their limit, told her about what she had been told at the start of August.

She could remember the great cacophony of sound that erupted from the hall at her words, and the disappointed look that Professor Dumbledore had given her. She hadn’t been able to find it in her to care.

And now it was coming up on the last few months of the year, and still there was nothing on Harry’s location. But now here fellow students were beginning to question the honesty and integrity of their ministry, which was being compounded by Professor Umbridge’s harsh, near archaic, punishment of students using illegal Blood Quills. The reputation of Fudge’s cabinet was falling fast.

Personally Hermione hoped Madam Bones would become the next Minister of Magic, she was so much more sensible than the other candidates.

She shifted the books on the table. It was time to start her own search.

_If they’re not going to search for you, Harry, then **I** will._ Hermione thought, opening the first book, ‘Searching for the Lost: A Magical Guide to Search and Rescue’ by Ignatius Prewitt, and starting to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t as long as the other chapters, but I feel like I made more progress with this than the last chapter.
> 
> In this one we get to see what’s been happening in England via a Hermione centered Omake. I got the idea for Hermione’s book from hearing that Molly Weasley’s Uncle, Ignatius Prewitt, was a curse breaker (though at the time it would have been grave robbing). I’d imagine that people going missing was pretty common during their work, so having spells to find their missing teammates seems practical. And now that it’s actually considered a profession, I wouldn’t be surprised if there really were books of that nature in the school. (he could have donated them since he probably went to Hogwarts himself.)
> 
> And Hedwig has appeared! (I love that owl!)


	5. At The End of the Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The storm has landed, and the cyborgs are caught unaware of it's intensity. Harry is laid out from his injuries, while the others struggle to find a way to defeat the assassin sent after them. Tempers flare and personalities clash, but time is of the essence for them.
> 
> Albert wonders if they can win, or if lightning will strike twice and end them all.
> 
> Harry ponders just how much he's come to care for his fellow cyborgs, and if preserving the Statute of Secrecy is really worth the lives and friendship of his team.

# Chapter 5: At the End of the Battle

_“Suddenly, the assassin Cyborg 0010 appeared on a ridge, preparing to attack his helpless adversaries below.”_ A soft click was heard as the type writer was reset. _“They were beaten and had to hope…”_ The typing stopped with a sigh. Albert looked up as 007 growled, seized his manuscript sheets and ripped them apart, venting his frustration in a small act of destruction.

“I don’t like the way this ends!” He shouted in frustration. “It’s driving me crazy! I’ve got to get out of here.” Watching the Englishman prep, he snagged an umbrella and casually leaned against the door. “I’m going down to the store to get some milk. If I’m not back in three days, have a nice life”. He brandished it at 007 when he was about to pass him. The man blinked at it, following the visual line back to Albert’s face. “What do I need that for?”

“No proper English gentleman would be caught dead without one.” He said, a dry smile in place to help cover the grimness of the comment. “It’s part of the costume. Besides, it’s pouring out there.”

“Well, in that case, thanks.” 007 said, taking the umbrella from him and turning to the door. His hand had just graced the handle when the German spoke again.

“You can run all you want. He’ll keep hunting till he finds you.” Albert said, his voice low. “And when he does, you’ll have to fight him alone. One on one.” He saw 007 falter in his step.

“Not if I run fast enough.”

“You know you can’t.” 007 looked out at the falling rain.

“If I lived in a rain forest he’d be afraid to come after me. Only problem is, I can’t stand places with high humidity.” It was a sad attempt at a joke, in light of what had happened earlier that night. Morning? He was certain it was closing in on sunset by now.

“The more rain, the better. Right now it’s the only thing keeping us safe.” Said 005, his voice low as he watched the rain streak down the window. It was the first time the Native American had spoken since their return from fighting 0010. 003 had rushed to help Dr. Gilmore get 009 out of serious condition, but that had been hours ago. Albert didn’t know where 006 had gone. Probably to the kitchen.

“There must be some way to use that to our advantage.” Muttered 008 from his seat on the couch. He was holding his chin in thought, an elbow propped up on one knee. “It seems to be his only weakness. Think. He can’t use his electrical power in conditions where he might short-circuit.”

“We can’t make it rain on que, so we’ve got to find some other way to neutralize him.” Albert muttered, grumpily. As far as he knew none of them had the power to command water at will, and that seemed to be the only way to beat 010. Albert looked at the owl perched on the fireplace mantle.

It hadn’t been until 002 mentioned it earlier that he’d realized she’d hitched a ride to Kozumi’s on his shoulder. He had been so focused on 009’s condition that he hadn’t noticed she was there. But she had been well behaved, simply finding a place to settle down and just watching everyone who walked by her with a quiet dignity. This just confirmed that she was tamed owl to him. She stared silently back at him.

_If only you could tell us how 009’s powers worked. They could be the edge we need against 0010 if we could work out a plan with them._

“What are you so afraid of?” asked 002, “Last time we didn’t know what he was capable of. Now at least we know what to expect.”

“Yeah, we know he’s got incredible powers.” Albert said in a clipped tone, his stress getting the better of him. He was starting to understand why it seemed like 009 had been losing his temper with 002. “And whatever we throw at him, he comes back with something stronger. And only one of us was able to even hold a candle to him in combat.”

“He’s got to have some weakness! We just have to find it.” Was the brash, yet determined response.

“I’m sure it’s not his powers of acceleration.” Said 008, looking up at the American. “You can’t even keep up with him. And how do you propose we turn off his electrical current?” 002 flinched, his bangs covering his eyes.

“There’s gotta be a way.” The teen muttered.

“What about 009? Is he able to help us?” asked 007, a tint of nervousness in his tone. He knew everyone’s attention had zeroed in on him. All of them were worried about 009’s condition, and it had been unofficially decided that he would be the one to check in on the green-eyed cyborg. Albert shook his head.

“We haven’t been able to wake him yet. The professor and 003 are trying to bring him around.” The room was quiet. The she-owl let out a forlorn hoot.

“Damn, I wish there was something we could do.” Muttered 002, pointedly ignoring the owl (she’d bitten him earlier. Though, as far as Albert could tell, he’d deserved it for provoking her). “He pushed his powers to the limit to protect us.”

“Yeah, he really-!”

“As promised, lunch is now served!” 006 cheered, throwing the door open, unwittingly slamming 007 against the wall and cutting him off mid-sentence. “I’ve prepared a few simple dishes I thought you all might find interesting.” 004 couldn’t help blinking in surprise at the spread of food 006 laid out on the coffee table between the couches. If that was the man’s idea of simple, he really wanted to find out what a complicated dish would look like. “Please, don’t be shy. Go ahead!”

“Really, 006, at a time like this, you prepared a meal?” asked 007, rubbing his bruised nose while peeling himself off the wall. “I can’t believe you could be so thoughtless!”

“Of course I made something! You can’t fight at less than full strength.” 006 huffed at them. “An army moves on its stomach, and with _this_ food you’re being chauffeured to the battle in a limousine.”

“Well, it does smell pretty good. It’d be a shame to waste it.” Said 008, a smile appearing on his face. “I guess it’s my duty to eat.”

“Save some for me.” Albert said, straightening up. Silly though it seemed, 006 did have a point. They need to eat in order to regain the energy they lost fighting 0010. 007 sniffed the air, a blissful smile appearing on his face.

“My nose seems to work. I’d better see if I can swallow.” 006 smiled brightly.

“002, 005, you’d better hurry or it’ll be all gone. I even have a little plate of cooked fish for our lovely, lady friend!” he said, picking up a small plate and placing it by the snowy owl. She gave an almost appreciative hoot and started eating. “We’ll show that Black Ghost. Eating well is the best revenge.” 006 nodded happily as everyone dug in to the food. Before adding, in a softer tone, “I just wish we were all here, especially 009.”

Once everyone had eaten (Fraulien owl included), and the dishes had been cleaned and put away, another attempt at deciphering a method to defeat 0010 was launched. They had to find some way to beat him. If not for their own lives, then for 009’s.

“I’ll say this for 0010: He knows how to press his advantage in a fight.” Said 008.

“His laser beam becomes a path for his electricity.” He muttered. “That’s what gives him such accuracy when he fires. It’s devastating.” How on earth could they get past that? The room was filled with a thoughtful silence, none of them knowing what to suggest. The door opened with a creak and Dr. Gilmore walked into the room, his face set in a contemplative frown.

“How’s 009?” asked 002. The Doctor sighed.

“He hasn’t woken up, but he’s no longer in serious condition. His power seems to be speeding up his healing process, but he’ll still be out for a while longer.”

“We could really use his help.” Murmured 008. Albert could almost hear 002 gritting his teeth.

“So that’s one fighter down.” The red-head grumbled.

“And 001 is still sleeping.” He said, looking at the peacefully dozing infant. “Do the rest of us have enough strength to beat this assassin?”

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

Harry’s head throbbed dully as his mind slowly crawled back to consciousness. This was the second time since becoming a cyborg that he’d woken to the lights of their ships’ med-bay, and the soft steady beeping of a heart monitor near him. He was starting think he was going to spend more time there than he had in the Hogwarts Hospital wing. Maybe Hecate was hinting that he ought to take up medicine as a profession instead of being an Auroror. Maybe a combat medic? Did wizards even have classes like that? He’d have to find out at some point.

Actually, now that he thought about it, did he even really qualify as human in the eyes of the ministry anymore? Maybe he should keep that to himself the next time he went to England, the last thing he needed was the bigots in change to be taking potshots at him for being a part-human.

Slowly, he blinked open his eyes, reflexively wincing as the light caused a short spark of pain in his head.

“Ah, 009!” A blur of blonde and tan entered his line of sight. It was 003, he’d seen her often enough to recognize her features, even if her image was blurry because he wasn’t wearing his glasses. “I’m glad you’re awake.”

“003, is everyone alright?” he asked, sounding tired. Which he was, almost dying because of an assassin tended to do that to you.

“It’s alright, 009. Everyone’s fine, thanks to you. They’re safe and sound.” He gave a sleepy smile.

“Thank goodness.” He murmured, relaxing. And he was, he’d wanted to protect them. “Have you been here the whole time I was out?” She glanced back at him.

“I want to apologize. I’m really sorry, 009,” she whispered, looking guiltily at her lap. Based on her tone, she sounded like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. “I acted stupidly. If I hadn’t been trying to reach 0010-.” Oh, of course she would blame herself for him being hurt, that seemed to be in her nature.

“Don’t say that, 003. You were trying to help him, save him from himself, and he pushed you away. It’s not your fault, and it never will be. That’s just how some people are.” She gave him a watery smile.

“Thank you, for saying that. That was very brave of you, to keep fighting even when you were so badly hurt.” He blinked at her, then smiled kindly.

“No, I just wasn’t going to give up. I’m stubborn like that. My parents were too, from what little I’ve been told about them.”

“You were very lucky, 009, I had lost sight of you when you started fighting 0010. In fact, the only reason we found you was because of this strange owl.” A hopeful flicker appeared in Harry’s chest. Could the owl 003 mentioned be-?

“An owl?”

“Yes, a beautiful snowy owl with a red and gold collar.” A smile split Harry’s face, the hopeful flicker turning into a pleased warmth.

“Hedwig.” He murmured fondly. Circe, he should have known she would be able to find him. She could find Sirius under a fake name while he was on the run, how could she not find him? He loved that owl.

“Hedwig? You mean, you know that owl 009?” asked 003.

“Yes, I do know her. She’s mine, and I’ve had her for years. She was given to me when I was eleven,” he said, smiling fondly as he remembered the day Hagrid had given her to him. “It’s amazing, how she always manages to find me.”

The door opened with a soft _whoosh_ , drawing the attention of both people present. In walked Dr. Gilmore, his expression tired, but that quickly changed when he saw that Harry was awake. Perched on his shoulder, watching the room and looking like the queen she was, was Hedwig. Harry was sure his eyes had lit up upon spotting his beloved owl, feeling like a part of him that had been missing had finally come back. He really loved that owl.

Hedwig fluffed herself up, swooping over to him and landing on the tech-heavy headboard and letting out a displeased bark at him. Slowly he reached up and stroked her feathers, letting her take a moment to bite his fingers, though it didn’t really hurt.

“Sorry for making you worry, Hedwig,” he murmured, gently scratching the side of her head. The expressive owl gave him a Look (Her patented, “You’ve done something dangerous AND stupid. Now don’t do it again.” Look) which earned a smile from the exhausted teen.

“It seems you’re recovering much faster than I expected, 009.” Dr. Gilmore commented, examining the computer near Harry’s head. “I really wish you’d let me investigate your powers, to find out what they could do. I only want to help, you know that.” Harry looked away, not daring make eye-contact with the Doctor. Never mind that he couldn’t actually see the man. He couldn’t break the Statute of Secrecy, even if he wanted to. The Doctor took his silence as yet another denial to reveal his secrets and, with a sigh, turned back to the screen. “At this rate, you be back too normal in another six or seven hours. Go back to sleep, 009. Save your energy for healing.”

Harry nodded, already able to feel his eyes drooping closed. He was so tiered; just how badly had he been hurt to be this drowsy afterwards? He shut them, letting his body slip back into sleep without a fight.

_Maybe…_ He thought, drowsily, _I should look for a loop hole in the Statute. So I won’t have to keep secrets from my friends anymore…_

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

“You men are individually equipped with different skills and abilities. If you coordinate and combine your strengths, you can attack 0010 and win.” Said Dr. Gilmore placing down a shogi piece with a click. “Collaboration between each of you is the key. It’s that simple. You should all work together as comrades, as friends.”

“As friends? Comrades?” 002 asked, his tone incredulous and slightly angry sounding. As if he couldn’t believe the doctor would even suggest such a thing. “We refer to each other by numbers! We don’t even know each other’s names or backgrounds, and we know at least one of us is keeping secrets. How can you expect us to operate as a unit?”

“If you can’t find a way, you’ll be destroyed.” Dr. Gilmore said grimly. 002 looked away.

“I’ve lived my life not trusting anyone.” He growled, punching the window to punctuate his sentence. “I don’t even believe in God! The lesson I’ve learned is that the only person I can rely on is myself!”

“Then maybe it’s time for you to learn a new lesson.” Came 003’s surprisingly firm voice. Albert watched as she approached 002, her expression set and unwavering as she glared at 002. “009 injured himself, and he did it to protect all of us.”

“Is he doing any better?” Albert asked her, carefully keeping the worry from his tone. He had a feeling that he didn’t really succeed at that. She smiled slightly at him.

“Yes. He woke up a little while ago, but he’d gone back to sleep before I left.”

“I’m glad.” He murmured. He meant it too. The kid had saved their skins at the cost of his own health. 003 fixed her eyes on 002 once more.

“You know that human beings can’t survive by themselves. That’s why they gather, for protection. To work together. Even you can understand that, if you can get past your selfishness.”

“Not every group can work efficiently together.” Albert said, his voice low as he stared at the floor. He raised his eyes. Knowing the grimness of his words. “There are dynamics and personalities that don’t mesh. Sometimes it’s a lack of leadership for the group. It’s not pleasant to hear, but it’s the truth.” 003 turned to the side.

“We should at least try.” The room fell silent. Albert looked to the window as a sudden beam of light fell on the carpet. The storm was clearing, finally allowing the light of the late afternoon sun to illuminate the building.

005 looked up from his thoughtful stance.

“He’s coming.” 

Never before had the light of the sun made him so anxious.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

 

Albert hunkered down in his hiding place, waiting for 0010 to appear in his sights. The Guerilla plan 008 had thrown together looked alright in theory, but he hoped it would work as well in practice.

Objectively speaking, it was a simple but effective plan. 002, who had already proven his will to fight, would act as a primary decoy, luring 0010 through the forest via acceleration mode. He would be so focused on chasing 002, he wouldn’t notice the others closing in on their positions. Once at the correct point, 006 would join him in fighting, and with 003’ directions, the two would herd the assassin cyborg toward the cliffs. Where he would be brought into an open position by 002 and Albert would shoot him with a rocket to knock him into the ocean. Then he would be ganged up on by 007, 008, and 005 who were all capable of underwater combat, while he was at a disadvantage. Especially against 008 who designed specifically for fighting in water.

If their theory was correct, (and they were all fairly certain it was) then 0010 would lose most of his electrical charge thanks to the salty ocean water, as he would probably have a built in defense against short-circuiting. Finally weakening him enough for them to beat him.

And their hasty battle plan had worked. To a point.

Albert’s eyes widened in confused disbelief when he saw the three underwater fighters get blown out of the sea from a mysterious water explosion. He quickly stood and raced to them, along with the rest of the team, to where they lay on the rocky ground beneath the cliffs.

“Are you alright?” He shouted. Pain exploded across his back, ripping a pain filled scream from his throat. He heard 003 and 002 shout his number as he hit ground, a weak groan pulling from him as he rolled himself on to his back.

“Very smart, getting me underwater to neutralize my electrical current.” Commented 0010. “But you forgot about polarity.”

“That’s right,” came a second voice. One that sounded remarkably like 0010’s. “Every source of electrical power has two components to it. That’s where you made a small, fatal error.” Albert forced his eyes open, looking to the bluffs above them, where a cyborg that was nearly identical to 0010 stood. The only differences he could see between them was that the look-alike wore red accents on his uniform instead blue ones and was ever so slightly taller.

“I can’t be…” Breathed 008.

“There’s more to me than you realized.” The red doppelgänger stated. “I’m only half the equation. In fact, to be absolutely accurate you’d have to refer to me as 0010 Plus.”

“There’s another cyborg like you?” Asked 002, taking a step forward and looking slightly nervous. 0010 Plus chuckled.

“Yes, the other half of the polarity.” Said the more familiar voice of the 0010 they had originally met. “We’re twin brothers. My name is 0010 Minus!” With that the twin cyborgs burst into a run. Albert slowly pulled himself to his feet, 003 helping him by offering her shoulder for support, warily watching the two run circles around their group. He could feel the electricity in the air rising with each circuit they ran; it was starting to make his hair stand on end.

“Plus!” Shouted the red twin.

“Minus!” And the lightning struck, ripping through their half metal bodies. Albert could barely hear the shouts of the others over his own agonized scream. The electrical charge created by the twins erupted into a tremendous explosion, leaving the seven prototype cyborgs charred and prone in the crater left in the ground. With the pain he was in Albert was amazed that he was still alive.

“You’re lucky I’m not at full strength, or you’d be burned to a crisp by now.” Commented 0010 Minus, a cruel smirk curling over his lips. “But with my brother’s help, I think we can make things real toasty for you. Have you ever experienced a microwave from inside the oven?” Everyone drew their blasters, watching tensely as 0010 Minus and Plus slowly approached.

“GET AWAY FROM THEM!” Bellowed a furious voice.

Albert’s head shot up, his pale-blue eyes locking on the red and gold clad figure illuminated by the rising moon.

“009…” He murmured. _What is he doing?! He can’t have healed that quickly!_ A faint chill ran down his spine at the hard, jade eyes that stared down at the twin cyborgs from above, and the vicious fury that radiated from them.

“You two want a fight? Then come get it.” The teen all but snarled at the two, the intensity of his gaze sharpening.

“009, you’re still alive, are you?” commented 0010 Minus, a frown curling his lips. He sounded like he’d expected it, thought there was a faint trace of surprise to his tone. 0010 Plus spoke up.

“I think we can remedy that situation. You won’t survive this time, 009.” Green eyes narrowed, and all three vanished from sight.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

Harry knew chasing after the others in his current state was a bad idea. Magic may be a limitless power, but his body could only take so much abuse.

But something was _very wrong_ right now. He could feel it in his bones. He had to get up and find the others, make sure they were okay. Weakly, he forced his faintly shaking body up from the bed, carefully pulling out the wires that connected him to the ship’s computers as he rose. He ignored the faint headache they left as they were removed improperly, he couldn’t wait for the doctor to come and disconnect him. He released a pulse to find where his glasses lay. They were on a small table by his head, he quickly picked them up and put them on, bringing the world around him into focus.

A displeased, bark-like hoot caught his attention

“Hedwig, please, I _have_ to get to the others. Something’s not right, I can _feel_ it.” He said, looking over to his owl, his dearest familiar. Amber eyes glared at him from the end of the bed. “At least bring me my wand, I can cast a few of the healing spells Madam Pomfrey taught me before I leave. Please?” There was a long stretch of silence as the two stared each other down. Finally, Hedwig let out a consenting hoot and bobbed her head towards small table at the other side of the room. Harry gave her a tender smile.

“Thank you, Hedwig.” He ignored the way his legs wobbled slightly as he crossed the room. He really shouldn’t try to go after his team. He paused, holding his wand in a loose grip.

_His_ team… It was the first time he’d thought of them like that. As being _his_ , and not as “the other cyborgs” or “the group he was with”. Harry didn’t have many things he’d thought of as _his_ while growing up. The Dursley’s had made it a point to tell him that anything they gave him out of the “goodness-of-their-hearts”, they would take back in a moment’s notice. That they were only giving it to him because they didn’t want it right then, and if they changed their minds they would take it back. His food, his clothes, even his toys (the few he’d ever been given). And that hadn’t changed even in the Wizarding World.

He doubted they’d realized that, they too, had an undertone of “not really yours”. His _father’s_ cloak, his _parent’s_ money, the photo album filled with pictures from his _parent’s friends_ , it just went on and on. Ron had lost his place as one of _Harry’s_ when he’d abandoned him during the Tri-Wizard tournament. He was supposed to know him, the real him, yet the red-head had abandoned him in his moment of need. And then just turned around and _expected_ Harry to forget about how much he’d hurt him. Back then, Harry hadn’t cared about what the public thought of him, only about what the people who were supposed to know him thought. He’d let Ron come back, but the red-head never realized that he hadn’t been given Harry’s trust again. Then he still hadn’t earned it back either; he wasn’t one of _his_ anymore.

Even Hermoine’s place as one of _his_ was rather shaky. Mostly due to her willingness to go over Harry’s head when he would do something that she disagreed with. At first it had been more about him outshining her, during their early friendship. But he had been used to living with the Dursleys, where he could never be better than Dudley, and had always just mimicked Ron to appease them both. Even when he knew he could do better, be better. Now that she was more sure of herself, she wasn’t offended by him starting to come out of his old habits. But she was still rigid in her beliefs, the whole Firebolt Incident had proven to him that she was more than ready to look to someone else if she didn’t like what he was doing. Even if he had a reason for believing what he did (why would Sirius Black, an escaped criminal, risk exposing himself by sending Harry such and extravagant gift? Did she think the goblins would allow a convicted criminal to withdraw money from their vaults and not do anything? That he would steal it just to set a trap for him? Wizards didn’t seem great at security, but they certainly weren’t stupid). Hermione had seemed to grow out of the worst of it though, after she found out what it was like to be hated for something that wasn’t the least bit true, thanks to that horrid _wench_ Rita Skeeter.

To be honest, the only things he really, truly thought of as _his_ were his wand and his beautiful familiar, Hedwig.

But now… Now he thought of their little, ragtag team of rebel cyborgs as _his_. They were the first people Harry had ever met who didn’t have some blown up expectation of him. Who would look at him and see another person like them, someone who was running blind and just trying to stay alive. People who would encourage him to eat “just a little more”, but wouldn’t try to force it on him. Who’d take a moment to ask him if he was feeling alright or if he’d slept well or if he wanted to join them on the couch while they read a book. Harry’s insides burned with a surge of protectiveness, of _mineminemustprotectwhat’smine_! His grip on his wand tightened. He would protect them, all of them, because they were his and he wouldn’t let anyone (not Black Ghost, not the Ministry, not even _Voldemort_ ) take them from him. A small part of him couldn’t help wondering how he’d grown so attached to them so quickly.

“ _Episkey_.” He murmured, pointing his wand at himself. It was a very basic healing charm, meant to heal minor injuries like cuts and bruises of various kinds. It was the first one Madam Pomfrey had taught him, back in his second year when he’d caught his first ever case of dragon pox and was stuck in the Hospital Wing with nothing to do (it had been a weekend during winter, one that he’d actually managed to finish his homework beforehand for, as no one had wanted to spend time with him because of the whole “Heir of Slytherin” thing).

But he was still very worn out, he’d have to work his way up to stronger spells. It was quickly followed by two more spells, one for strained muscles and one for physical exhaustion. He would have kept going, it not for the startled gasp that came from behind him. His entire body stilled.

“009…” Harry winced, slowly turning to look over his shoulder. There, standing in the doorway, was Dr. Gilmore. The man’s eyes flickered between Harry, his wand and back to Harry. “You… Your power… You can use it to heal yourself?” He asked, his tone cautious.

“I-I- Well…” Harry hesitated, worrying his lower lip, should he answer the man? Should he continue to remain silent? What should he do?

Except Dr. Gilmore was one of _his_ too. Maybe… Maybe he could give the man hints? So long as he didn’t outright tell them about magic, he wouldn’t be breaking the Statute of Secrecy. Right?

“Only little things,” he said slowly, carefully picking his words. “I-I’m not trained for, well, for healing.”

“Trained? So then… There _are_ other people with powers like yours!” The Doctor breathed, an excited glint appearing in his eyes. “What else can you do 009? How many others are- ah.”

Harry hurriedly shook his head.

“I can’t! I can’t tell… It’s not allowed! They’ll force-!” Harry abruptly cut himself off. Damn his in-ability to lie, he almost told the Doctor too much. He didn’t want to leave them. He didn’t want the Ministry to make them forget him and force him to leave. But the doctor was a smart man, if he gave him little tidbits of information, he would figure it out on his own. He glanced at the aging man out of the corner of his eyes. The man was watching him with a look of deep contemplation on his face. Harry could practically _hear_ the gears turning in the man’s head.

“009, why are you up?” He finally asked. Harry knew the elder still had more questions, but he was glad the man was saving them for later. For now, what little Harry had given him would be enough.

“Something’s wrong,” he said bluntly. “I don’t know what or why or how, but _something_ isn’t right. I can feel it. I have to go find the others.” The Doctor looked at him sharply.

“Don’t be absurd boy! You’re in no condition to go anywhere except back to bed!” He said firmly, stepping closer to Harry. “009, even if you _can_ heal yourself, you were still badly injured by 0010. You need to rest.” Harry gritted his teeth, emerald eyes hardening.

“No.” Dr. Gilmore huffed in agitation.

“009-,” Dr. Gilmore started, his frustration showing in his tone. But Harry cut him off.

“No Doctor. I am _not_ going back to bed. I _know_ my instincts, intuition whatever you want to call it. When it tells me something is wrong, then something is _wrong_.” He glared down the doctor, his hands clenched at his sides as he loomed (slightly, there was still a good couple feet between where the two were standing) over the older man, his gaze unwavering. “I _am_ going after them. With or without your permission.” _No matter how bad of an idea it may be._

_“Let him go, Doctor.”_ Both males jolted in surprise at the unexpected mental voice.

“001? When did you wake up?” The wizard asked.

_“Only a little while ago. I’ve been thinking ever since Professor Kozumi told me what happened. 009, what did 003 say when she first sensed 0010?”_ the psychic child asked. Harry paused, his face in a thoughtful frown.

“At first? She said she could sense two people approaching, then she corrected herself and said there was only one person.” He said carefully, thinking back to the start of the previous evening. “Why do you ask?”

_“Doctor, 009, are either of you familiar with electrical polarities?”_ Harry blinked in confusion.

“Not me, electronics of any sort have never been a strong point for me. Is it bad?” A startled gasp escaped the scientist, drawing his attention.

“001, you can’t mean that- There might actually two 0010s?!” Harry looked surprised. Twins-? Oh, now he was starting to understand what they meant.

In magic, electrical-element based magic actually had two forms, usually referred to as “Thunder”, the after-shocks of power, and “Lightning”, the burning and destructive power. Hermione had lectured him about it during their research in Fourth year, before the First Task.

“Thunder” magic focused on electrical shockwaves that were accompanied by ground shaking sound waves. They were best for fighting in large, open areas.

“Lightning” magic, however, was a very narrow and dangerous magic. Even with it being so bright, because of how focused it was, it was incredibly deadly.

People who used any kind of elemental magic were incredibly rare, and most of the time were only good at using it for fighting. It took an incredible amount of self-discipline to call on such magic if you weren’t born with the talent for it. Mostly because not only were the casters pulling magic from their cores for it, they were also calling on Wild Magic to use it. And if something went wrong, it went _really_ wrong. And usually ended with the person trying to use it getting badly hurt, or worse.

It would make sense then, that Black Ghost would make two electrical cyborgs. If there were two 0010s, then may have also made use of twin magic even if they didn’t actually know about magic. It was a common staple in superstition, of thunder and lightning being two beings instead of one.

Not only that, but twins tended to unconsciously boost each other’s power when they were near each other, especially if they were close enough to touch. The Hogwarts founders actually put in a special rule allowing twins that had been sorted into separate houses to visit and stay in each other’s dorms whenever they liked. After all, in that era, survival of a magical family depended on the strength of its heirs. But, for reason’s Harry still didn’t understand, everyone seemed to either ignore or forget about that rule.

The doctor turned to Harry.

“Under most circumstances, 009, no. Both positive and negative electrical polarities are needed for any electronic to work properly. But with what little we know about 0010, it could be a very bad thing,” Dr. Gilmore said, looking very pale. Harry felt himself bristling at the prospect.

“Doctor, the radio, the one in my head, can you use it to talk to me with the ship’s radio?” The man shook his head, spurring a small curse from the wizard. “Hedwig, stay with Dr. Gilmore. 0010 uses lightning and I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Hedwig hooted at him and gracefully swooped over to the doctor, landing delicately on his shoulder. The teen quickly grabbed his belt and holstered his ray gun, all but flying around the room and out the door.

“001! Can you guide me to the others?”

_“Yes, but you’ll have to hurry. According to the plan 008 came up with before they left, they’ll have engaged the enemy by now. They’re about 4.02 kilometers_ [an: that’s 2.5 miles] _southeast from you’re current location.”_ Harry nodded, even though 001 couldn’t see it, and hit the acceleration switch in his teeth. It was the only way he could cross that distance and make it in time to help them. The wizard surged through the halls of the ship and out into the darkness of the early evening. _“Follow the cliff-side on your right, 009. 008’s plan was to force 0010 over the cliff and into the ocean water to neutralize his electrical powers, then defeat him while he was at a disadvantage.”_

He bounded up the cliff, leaping over rocks and dodging around trees. He was pumping the full brunt of his speed into his sprint across the ground.

_“Turn left, 009, you’ll be right over the others.”_

“Right.” Harry grunted, valiantly ignoring the worst-case scenarios playing through the back of his mind. He stopped right at the edge of the cliff, and felt a surge of protective rage rush through his body.

_His_ team was cornered. Injured and huddled together, trapped between two 0010s, who were slowly stalking towards them like lazy predators. His lips curled into a furious snarl as he looked down at the scene.

“GET AWAY FROM THEM!” He bellowed, his rage boiling over. Filling his senses and sharpening his mind to a lethal point. He glared down at the twin cyborgs, both staring at him with strangely blank expressions. “You two want a fight? Then come get it.”

“009, you’re still alive, are you?” commented the more familiar twin dressed in blue, his lips curling into a frown. The other twin spoke up.

“I think we can remedy that situation. You won’t survive this time, 009.” Green eyes narrowed, and Harry bit down on his acceleration switch. As if on a silent cue, all three took off.

While searching for the others, Harry had cooked up a short, and not to mention risky, plan to beat 0010. It had been inspired by what little he knew of electronics, and by the only time Vernon had tried to repair one of Dudley’s electric toys when he was younger. Harry tore off down an electrical line, intending on following it to the power plant it undoubtedly led too. It was an incredibly dangerous plan, but those tended to be his best ones.

“What’s the rush, boy?” asked the red twin. He actually sounded curious, in addition to sounding condescending. And here he’d thought only Slytherins could pull that off. “I thought you wanted to fight us?” He gave him a cold smirk.

“Of course, _flipendo!_ ” Harry’s spell was rewarded with a startled grunt as the red twin was knocked off his feet and away from Harry. The blue twin growled, lunging at Harry, forcing the teen to dodge to the side. He could feel his hair standing on end as a bolt of electricity shot by him. Harry’s eyes flicked to the tower ahead of him, widening in surprise. The red twin was in front of him, smirking harshly.

“Game over, 009.” Harry ‘tsked’ angrily, and launched himself to the side. It wouldn’t be as direct as following the power lines, but he could still lead them to the plant. Harry wrenched back with a surprised curse when the blue twin appeared in his path.

“Going somewhere?” He glanced back, the red twin was behind him.

“Watch this! When we put our skills together-”

“We get maximum effect. Let us demonstrate.” Harry whipped around in place, trying to keep them in his line of sight as they stared circling him.

“Right now, my brother and I-”

“Control the balance of power.” Harry struggled to push back the memories of Fred and George’s “twin speak” flitting through the back of his mind. These two weren’t his almost-brothers, they were there to kill him! He didn’t notice his breathing start to pick up.

“Plus!” shouted the red twin.

“Minus!” shouted the blue, and Harry howled in agony. He could feel the electricity ripping through him as, yet again, his world went dark. But this time, he felt a strange pulling pressure envelope him just before he blacked out.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

_“009. 009!”_ Harry slowly blinked his eyes open. Listening as 001 continued to prod him mentally. He was laying on his side, in the shadow of a concrete building. Or was it a wall? _“Are you able to get up, 009?”_

“Yes, I can.” He murmured, a slight slur to his speech. He glanced around slowly pushing himself up. “Where…?”

_“I brought you to the Electrical plant. That’s where you were heading, correct?”_ Leaning against the wall, Harry licked his dry lips and swallowed to wet down his sore throat.

“Yeah, h-how…?”

_“I transferred you.”_

“Transferred?” He repeated in confusion.

_“It’s sort of like telekinesis, or even teleporting. It’s one of my abilities.”_ Harry had no idea what telekinesis was, but what 001 was talking about sounded a lot like apparating. A similar concept, maybe? “I can move things from one place to another using my mind. However, I can only move unconscious things or objects. When you blacked out from 0010’s attack, I transferred you to the power plant. It only took a split second, which kept the attack from killing you.” Harry smiled slightly.

“Thank you, 001. I owe you for that.”

_“Be careful. 0010 is close by. I can sense it.”_ The soil to his left crunched, and Harry’s head snapped to the side. One of the twins gave a dark chuckle and Harry’s eyes narrowed in determination. This had to work. His plan had to work. His options had run out. _“009, remember, there are two forces at work here, positive and negative! One brother is plus while the other brother is minus. Not only is that their strength, it’s also their weakness.”_

“I know 001, I know.” He murmured, glaring down the twins. He lunged into the maze of electrical lines, towers and generators. He vaguely noted that evacuation alarms sounding from the main building. Good, he wouldn’t have to worry about bystanders being caught in the crossfire then. He flicked his gaze over his shoulder. The blue twin, Minus, was currently following close behind him. He whipped out his wand and fired a spell over his shoulder.

“ _Defodio!_ ” The spell gouged out a deep groove in the earth, but it had just missed Minus. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised by this. He sidestepped an attack from Plus, leaping up onto the support beam and racing off in a different direction from earlier. He kept dodging bolts of electricity, he needed the twins to stay separated from each other for just a little bit longer.

He heard Minus shout something at his back, a witty comment if he had to guess, be he ignored it. Along with whatever his brother said after him.

_Almost there…_ Harry thought, darting out of the path of another attack. Plus appeared in front of him, and he gave an almighty leap over them. The brothers narrowly avoided crashing into each other, but he could _hear_ the electricity sparking between them. _Blast it! So close…_

“What’s the matter, 009?” asked Minus, “Scared of a little lightning?” Harry couldn’t stop the snort that escaped him at that.

_Please, do you honestly think I’m dumb enough to just stand still and let you kill me?_ He darted around a sharp corner, then another. He risked letting out a pulse to find where the brothers were. Only one twin was behind him, the other must have been too far away for him to sense. He gritted his teeth, he would just have to hope he could get them to the right place.

Glancing up, Harry saw Minus launch himself from one of the towers at the teen. And he hit his acceleration switch one last time. He didn’t need to look behind him to know when the two cyborgs collided with each other. The screams and over whelming surge of power from behind him told him more than enough. He could feel his eyes starting to water, but they didn’t form tears.

_“When positive and negative polarities make contact, it causes a short in the system and everything along the circuit is destroyed.”_ Said 001, his mental voice soft and saddened. It seemed, even with everything the toddler had been through, he still held a small respect for the dead.

“Twin brothers who could never come close enough to touch, lest both die,” he whispered. “What a terrible fate.” _Fred and George would rather die, then have to live like that._

“009!” Harry looked behind him to see his team, bruised and beaten but alive, silently watching him. The light from the fire illuminating their faces, and revealing their various expressions of worry.

“The power’s off. We’re safe for now.”

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

Albert was worried about 009. While he was very mature for his age, the green-eyed cyborg was still a teenager. And tonight, he’d been forced to kill someone. Two people now that he thought about. 009 hadn’t been put through the same trials they had suffered through, so, taking someone’s life was probably weighing heavily on the kid’s mind. He carefully crept through the darkened hallways, trying to mimic 009’s feather-light footsteps. (Not an easy task when you weighed double the weight of the average adult male)

He wasn’t going to try and figure out what Dr. Gilmore had finally coaxed out of 009, about some of the things 009 could do, about there being _more_ people with powers like his. No, that deserved more of his of his focus at another time, when he wasn’t worried about the teen’s mental state. It was still pretty late in the night, after being checked over by Dr. Gilmore most of the team had collapsed into bed and slipped into sleep. But he just couldn’t sleep, and he doubted 009 could either.

He saw light filtering out from behind the partially open kitchen door, and subconsciously held his breath. Carefully, he widened the opening in the door and peered through. And confirmed that the person he was looking for was inside.

Sitting at the island counter, slowly petting his owl (and wasn’t that an odd combination?) was 009. His gaze was distant as he sipped from a steaming mug. Hot chocolate by the smell of it. Albert lightly knocked on the door frame, drawing 009’s attention to him. The kid jolted slightly, before spotting him and giving a weak smile. The owl hooted at him.

“Hey.” God, the kid sounded so _subdued_. 009 was just a _teenager_ , he shouldn’t have to sound like that.

“Hey, you feeling alright?” He asked, his voice soft. Green-eyes blinked at him, and the teen shrugged. Albert let some of his concern show. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“What’s there to talk about?” 009 asked, his voice oddly quiet. Albert slipped into the room, snagging a wooden stool and sitting down next to the teen.

“You had to do something pretty hard tonight, something even soldiers would have a hard time doing. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” 009 glanced at him, a flicker of surprise on his face. Why was he surprised? They were a team now, helping each other out is what they were _supposed_ to do. After all, there wasn’t anyone else to help them.

“I- I’ll be okay. Once I wrap my mind around things, I’ll be fine.” Ah, he must still be in shock, just a little bit. He gave the teen his best, soothing smile.

“Okay then, ze- “Albert shook his head. He wasn’t and expert, but when it came to emotional things, it was better to let your self be personal with the person you were talking to. Not official or distant. “Harry, anytime you want to talk about it, or anything really, just let me know.”

0-no, Harry’s head snapped to him, emerald-colored eyes wide with surprise. He gave the teen a smile, and patted his shoulder. He stood up, heading for the door.

He wouldn’t try to force Harry to talk to him. From what he’d seen of the teen, he was more likely to clam up if confronted than confess his problems. It would be best if Albert let the teen come _to him_ instead.

“Ah, um…” came a small, hesitant call. He glanced back, his calming smile still in place. The teen fidgeted in his seat, blushing slightly, then abruptly blurted. “Uh, Wh-what’s your name? Your real one?” Albert blinked in surprise, then chuckled.

“Albert Heinrich, nice to meet you.” He said. He hadn’t expected the question, but it would be rude to not answer. “Good night, Harry.” A small, shy smile crept onto the younger male’s face. And Albert could swear Harry’s eyes shined a little brighter.

“G-good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, the fifth chapter is here! This story is a self-challenge. As much as I love that people enjoy this story, I don’t write this for favorites or reviews. I write to improve my skills as a writer.  
> Next, the version of Cyborg 009 I’m working from is the 2001 anime. The time line and events will follow that (until magic is introduced), but they will be moved forward a few years. Harry’s fifth year is in 1995, so we can take about 6-7 years off the ages of 005 to 008 to get how old they would be in this story.  
> And, that's all I have to say really. Enjoy!


	6. Tears of Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Losing someone dear to you is hard, especially if you haven't had time to properly grieve for them. Albert knows this, but losing Hilda is still a fresh wound. Loosing his sense of self to Black Ghost has only made things worse, and he clings to his humanity with all his strength.
> 
> But with the threats posed by Black Ghost, would it be better to let himself be the mindless killer they made him to be? To let go of his ability to sympathize, or reach out to others, for the sake of survival?
> 
> Or maybe, like 009 (like HARRY), he should keep going, keep feeling even if it hurts. Because, that hurt, those feelings, are what really make him human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you all know, this story is also on fan fiction .net (under the same name) and on DeviantArt .com. My DA name is Witchcat95 and I also have some self-drawn fan art for the story. Feel free to take a look!

# Chapter 6: Tears of Steel

Harry sat in Kozumi’s study, curled up in a plush armchair he’d nicked from another room as he slowly sounded his way through a Japanese children’s book. He’d told Dr. Kozumi that he wanted to actually _learn_ Japanese, so he could help when the man went into town for various chores and errands. And he knew at some point they’d have to go to the city. For what, he wasn’t sure, but he knew they couldn’t stay in the professor’s home forever. That, and languages had always fascinated him, written or spoken. Not even his disastrous fourth year had managed to take that from him.

It had been roughly two, no, three days since 0010’s attack.

At Dr. Gilmore’s insistence, they’d set up a new routine for their continued stay at Professor Kozumi’s. One which included the cyborg members of their team regularly patrolling the man’s property for threats. It was a reasonable idea, but it left Harry feeling like a soldier. But, he supposed he was one. To a degree at least. Gilmore had assigned him the early morning shifts, as he always seemed to be up at that time anyways (mostly because he rarely went to sleep in the first place. Not that he’d told the man that), which was fine by him. He looked up from his book at the faint groan that came from the couch.

Albert had volunteered to take the morning patrol with Harry, though the teen didn’t understand why. He still suspected that he kept waking the man in the morning, but he had no way to confirm it. And the German certainly wasn’t telling him if he did. The two had been chatting the night before about Harry’s interest in languages and how he planned to learn them (which lead Harry to learning about the translator chip installed in his _brain,_ but that only worked for spoken word). At some point the older man had dozed off on the couch, and the wizard hadn’t had the heart to wake him. So, he’d just thrown a blanket over the silver haired man and let him sleep.

A frown tugged at Harry’s lips at the expression on the man’s face. Albert’s eyes were squeezed shut, his brow furrowed, and his mouth curved into a frown. The lines of his face were drawn and tense, and he looked very distressed. He was making anxious sounds in his sleep, as well.

Harry didn’t like seeing that expression on Albert’s face, he decided.

The German man wasn’t supposed to be distressed; disapproving, amused, even comforting, but _never_ distressed. He was supposed to be the breath of calm cynicism that kept the rest of the group grounded in the insanity that surrounded them. Harry quickly marked his page as he unfurled from the chair and quietly padded over to the sleeping man.

“Albert?” he called softly. Albert was a light sleeper. It never seemed to take much to wake him. Though he claimed he’d grown used to Harry’s soft movements in the next room over. Reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder, he called again, “Albert?”

The adult jolted up, a choked gasp of alarm escaping him, startling Harry. Albert’s breathing was heavy as his eyes swept about the room, with that kind of franticness of someone trying to find something or even someone who wasn’t there. Blue-grey eyes finally landed on alarmed green ones, and recognition finally flashed through them.

“H-Harry? Oh, it was a dream. I was dreaming.” The man let out a shaky breath, buying his face in his hands. Harry hesitated for a moment. “Just a dream.”

“U-um… Are- are you- alright?” he asked softly. He wasn’t used to dealing with other people’s nightmares. Normally, he wasn’t around for them. And if he was, they were minor things that a quick word reassurance or encouragement could fix. This didn’t seem like one of those times. And most people had never shown _him_ very much concern for such things.

_Except for Albert, and the other cyborgs._ He couldn’t help thinking.

Misty-grey eyes turned to him and simply stared for a few quiet moments. Harry nervously shuffled his feet at the look. Had he said something wrong? Should he have _not_ asked that? Did Albert _not_ want him to help? The older man sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“I will be. I-I don’t really want to talk about it. Not right now.” After a moment, the wizard gave an accepting nod. He wanted to know what was wrong, but he wouldn’t let himself be a hypocrite by trying to force the man to tell him. It wouldn’t be right. Clutching his book against his chest, he carefully trotted back to his seat. Albert gave him space when he needed, so he would do the same. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the older man pull a golden ring on a chain out from under his shirt. Was that- an engagement ring?

No, he wouldn’t ask. He glanced out the window at the slowly brightening sky.

“We should probably get ready, 008 and 005 will be back soon.” He commented, trying to find something to talk about. He honestly didn’t know what else to do in this kind of situation. He heard the man behind him let out a confirming grunt, followed by the rustling of cloth.

“Let’s get ready then.”

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

Albert stared at his engagement ring, sighing softly as he once again slipped it inside his shirt. The morning patrol had been quiet, and there wasn’t a single hint of trouble in any direction. Which was good for them. Black Ghost wasn’t sending the next enemy after them yet. Therefore, they still had time to heal and recover from 0010’s assault.

Harry had decided to use the opportunity to practice (and learn) animal training signals with his owl, Hedwig. Albert was rather surprised by how well the two worked together. He hadn’t seen such a good match since he was a child, and had seen an animal show at the Hageback Zoological Gardens. Hedwig seemed to have a perfect understanding of her owner, following each instruction given to her whether it was word, whistle, or snapping fingers. It was impressive to say the least.

Breakfast had been made by 006 by the time they returned, so all they had to do was sit down and dig in. Everything had been relaxed, filled with idle chatter from Professor Kozumi, 007 asking 003 to take another look at his manuscript about their “adventures” (without much success), and Dr. Gilmore conversing with Harry. The last one seemed to center around the Doctor trying to sneakily pry more information from the teen about his secret powers. Not that it was working, Harry was alarmingly good at verbal misdirection and giving not-answers to questions. He almost had Albert going for a few of them (he wondered just _how_ the teen had gained such a skill. An uncomfortable feeling in his stomach made him think he didn’t _want_ to know the answer).

“009, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Harry looked up at Professor Kozumi, curiosity glinting in his eyes. The look was enough to let the professor know he was listening. “Just how old are you? I know you look rather young compared to the others, but I don’t think anyone’s asked.” Harry blinked at the man.

“Well, um, what month is it?”

“April, 1996.”

“Ah, then I’m still fifteen. My birthday’s July 31st.” Albert almost dropped his drink, while 007 spat his tea across the table, almost coating 002 in it, and Dr. Gilmore made a strange strangled sound from his seat next to Kozumi. Even 005 and 008 had stilled, turning to look at Harry in surprise, with a trace of alarm on their faces. Green-eyes blinked in a kind of innocent confusion at their reactions. “What? Is something wrong?”

“You’re only fifteen?!” 007 wheezed out, obviously not believing his ears. “You weren’t even out of school when Black Ghost took you!” The teen’s face scrunched in confusion at that.

“Well… Yeah, but… I doubt they would’ve really cared about that…” Harry trailed off, seeming to shrug off the shock held by the rest of the team.

Albert wanted to give him some form of admonishment. To tell Harry that it was _not okay_ that he had been dragged into this, that he shouldn’t just shrug it off. The responsible adult in him wanted to jump up and tell that he shouldn’t _have_ to fight Black Ghost. Harry wasn’t an adult, he wasn’t even legal age! They should have _never_ brought him in, he should be safe at home with his friends or his family not-

Albert abruptly halted his train of thought.

No, that wasn’t right, none of them wanted this to happen to them. Harry never made the decision to join this fight, just like the rest of them. The only one who had _chosen_ to fight against Black Ghost was Dr. Gilmore, and that was more from guilt, regret, even betrayal than the rest of them. And Harry had implied (never outright said, just implied) that he wasn’t close to remaining his family. He took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose and cut into 006’s near panic attack over Harry’s age.

“Sorry, 009, we were just surprised.” He said, carefully picking his words. He didn’t want to give the wrong impression to the kid. He didn’t want him to think they believed his to be in-capable just because he was younger than them. “I guess we were all under the impression that you were older than that.”

“It’s fine, I get it a lot.” Harry assured them, a small smile on his face.

The rest of breakfast was rather subdued, as everyone mulled over the new information. Though 006 was still making displeased noises over Black Ghost bringing in someone as young as Harry to the Cyborg Soldier Project (not that Albert could blame the man). Albert couldn’t help noting that the doctor looked much paler than before. Just how much information about them had Black Ghost hidden from the man to keep him working for them?

.

~~~MAGICA~~CYBORG~~009~~

.

Albert stood silently at his position just outside the tree line on Professor Koizumi’s property, right where they’d initially planned their fight against 0010 Minus. He let out a deep sigh, looking out at the distant line where the sky met with the sea.

_I just can’t put it aside._ He thought tiredly, scrubbing a hand through his hair. _If he was the same age as 002 or 003, it would be easier on my mind, but I just can’t push back the thought that 009’s only fifteen. He’s being really mature about all this, but it still bothers me._ Which brought up the question of why he was so mature. It would take a very, difficult childhood to make someone grow-up so quickly, not even 002 (who claimed he grew up on the streets) was as mature about what was happening to them as 009. That was… troubling, to say the least. To imagine as good kid like Harry being put through something like that. No child should be put through that, or anything like what his mind was creating as an explanation. To be honest, it made him irritated, angry, furious even.

He looked down at the radar Dr. Gilmore made, hoping it would provide some distraction from his tremulous thoughts. So far, the radar wasn’t showing the approach of anything dangerous. He could hear 007 speaking over the radio built into the gadget.

_“*Heh! Well if you ask me, it looks kind of like a baby monitor-*”_

_“*I can hear everything you’re saying, 007!*”_ the Doctor snapped, drawing a slight smirk from the German. This was followed by an irritated huff. _“*We’ve got radar, electromagnetic field detectors and infrared devices. Not to mention the audio and electrical detectors you’re using. I’m confident that, no matter how the Black Ghost approaches, we’ll be able to detect them.*”_ Albert looked up to see a faint, white shape curling high above the cliff-side, far from his own position. Hedwig. Harry seemed to have decided she would accompany him on all his patrols. When asked why, he simply said “She’s a smart girl, and far more aware than you’d think.” He believed it. That bird was just too smart to be normal.

The radar in his hand abruptly went off, buzzing and flashing, and emitting a frantic beep. 003’s voice echoed from the device.

_“*I can sense a large, round object heading here.*”_

_“*Whatever it is, I can’t identify it.*”_ came the Doctor’s voice, immediately putting Albert on guard. It had to be something new if the good Doctor didn’t know what it was.

_“*It’s approaching K-point 1! 005, 008, it’s nearest you!*”_

_“*North? South? Come on, 003! Where’s this thing coming from?!*”_ asked 008, his tone frantic. 005 was the one to answer him.

_“*Below!*”_ Even from Albert’s position, he could feel the earth shaking beneath his feet as the mystery object surfaced. Shoving the radar in his empty gun holster, he ran to 005 and 008’s location, easily determined by the fallen trees, the tremendous cracks ripped into the earth, and the large, spider-like machine that pulled itself from the ground. The robot shot a strange, white goo into the air, trapping 008 and 005 inside. The laser knife Albert’s left hand slid out and he hurriedly used it to cut any piece of the substance that came near him.

“Guys! Are you alright?” No response. Why didn’t that surprise him? He turned to their assailant, keeping one’s back to an enemy was generally a bad idea. “I’m not sure what you are. Are you some kind of cyborg, like us?”

“Correct, my name is 0011.” Answered the robotic voice of the gigantic cyborg, 0011. The large cyborg loomed over Albert’s significantly smaller form. “And I was sent here to eliminate _all_ of you.”

“No thanks! You can take _this_ back to the Black Ghost!” He opened fire on 0011 with his machine gun hand, but the bullets did little more than bounce off 0011’s entirely metallic body. He swallowed the curse on the tip of his tongue.

“If you’re a cyborg, they must’ve created you as well. Why don’t we look the same?” asked 0011, confusion echoing in his computerized voice.

“How should _I_ know?” He gritted out. 0011 released a fresh barrage of his strange capture substance (which honestly, kind of reminded Albert of highly magnified spider webbing), forcing the German man to fall back to avoid being ensnared. The giant cyborg proved himself to be rather chatty, as he spoke up once more.

“Once all of you are gone, Black Ghost will allow me to reclaim my own body once more.”

“Can’t help you!” Albert snapped, glancing back over his shoulder. The action cost him though, as his foot was caught in a glob of webbing that landed in front of him. One of 0011’s eye-like ports opened, revealing a ray gun of some kind, but it closed just as quickly to protect itself from a blaster shot. Harry and 002 surged onto the battlefield, their weapons at the ready, with 006 and 007 following close behind. The youngest cyborg placed himself between Albert and 0011. An almost instinctive reaction to seeing a teammate on the ground before an enemy.

“Now I’m glad I sent Hedwig back to Kozumi’s when my radar went off,” he heard the teen mutter, while keeping his weapon trained on 0011. One of 0011’s eyes opened again, and he open fired on the five. Albert felt 002 wrench him backwards, freeing him from the goo he’s been stuck in, before the red-head shot into the air again. Harry was the first to fire back, followed closely by Albert and 002. There attacks did nothing to deter the giant in his pursuit of the rebel cyborgs as he released more of his webbing into the air.

“That’s it! Guys!” Harry’s shout cut through the air. “Aim for the opening the second the cover slides off! It always closes when we fire, so it must be a weak point!” Albert charged forward, wordlessly falling into position for 002 to lift him into the air. It was a familiar tactic that the two made use of during Black Ghost’s “testing” procedures. The shielding that made up his knee clicked back, prepping the rocket inside for launch. He fired, silently praying his timing was right. It wasn’t.

He heard the tell-tale sound of rochets igniting and watched as, to his unspoken disbelief, 0011 took to the air as well.  It looked incredibly awkward, as the large cyborg shot over the forest with incredible speed for something so large.

“I didn’t think it could move that quickly!” 002 said, sounding just as disbelieving as Albert felt. Grey-eyes narrowed in determination.

“Just get me close.” He saw an eye open and fired as quickly as he could. Unlike their previous shots, this one had struck at just the right moment. A small explosion echoed from the spider-like robot, emitting a narrow column of smoke, followed by another explosion that blew out a few of the other eyes. It was probably from the circuits damaged by the first explosion. 0011 slammed into the narrow cliff edge. 002 dropped them down just in front of their opponent. 004 aimed his blaster at the spider. 

“There’s something I wanted to ask you.” Albert started. 0011 made a sound like he was groaning.

“Wh-What is it?”

“You said you wanted to get your own body back. Was that what Black Ghost promised you in exchange for killing us?”

“That’s right.” Answered 0011’s metallic voice, sounding more human than Albert had expected right then. “I have a family, but I’m not allowed to see them. With this body, I can’t even hug my wife and daughter. Can you understand that? I used to look the same as you, before I was captured by the Black Ghost. He made me into this… _thing_ you see in front of you. All I want is too go _home_. I want to be with my family. That’s all I want. That’s all I ever wanted.” His voice broke at the end, and his body shook as he cried tears they all knew he could never truly shed. It left a bitter taste in Albert’s mouth, knowing that the man before his still had a home (unlike so many of _them_ ), but could never return to it. He found himself hesitating to pull the trigger.

“What are you doing, 004?” 002 voice cut through his thoughts like a freshly sharpened knife. He saw the red-head pull out his own blaster and aim it at 0011.

“No! Wait!” He rushed forward, grasping the American’s hand to stop him, but he’d acted a few seconds too late. The laser cut into the ground just in front of 0011’s giant body, destabilizing the outcropping they were on just enough for the ground beneath him to give way, sending the cyborg falling into the ocean far below. He saw a single rocket be shot from 0011’s body into the air, but it did little more than fly high and explode far, far above their heads. Though, somehow, it created a sudden rain storm above them.

“We should have killed him.” He heard the brash cyborg mutter.

_“Hey guys?”_ Harry’s voice came over the radio. _“Could you come and help us get 005 and 008 back to Kozumi’s house? I don’t think me and 007 can move ‘em by ourselves.”_

_“Yeah, we’re coming.”_ 002 answered, sounding as aggravated as he looked.

.

~~~MAGICA~~CYBORG~~009~~

.

Albert looked out at the sunset. He’d hesitated in killing 0011. He no matter how much he thought about it, once he’d learned 0011 had family, all his nerve to end the other cyborg had fled his body. He hadn’t been able to pull the trigger. That could have been a fatal error. One that 002 was oh-so-happy to tell him

“You couldn’t kill him, but you would have let him kill us.” He snarled. “You’re a danger to our health” Furious grey-eyes snapped to harsh brown ones, his metallic hand seized the front of 002’s uniform, his lips curled in a snarl. For a fleeting moment, he considered punching the red-head. He growled, and shoved 002 from his path. “Wait! I’m not finished talking with you yet.”

“I have to go report for duty.” He muttered, his tone indicating that they wouldn’t be speaking any further, and stormed from the house.

He sighed as he strode to where 009 was on duty. 002 didn’t get it. If he pulled the trigger without remorse, then he would be no different than the weapon the Black Ghost had wanted him to be. He would be the _monster_ they’d made him to be. He refused to become that. He refused to become a mindless killing machine!

He could see 009 in the distance, standing on top of an out-cropping silhouetted by the night sky behind him. The image reminded him of the fight against 0010, when the teen had rushed out to save them, even though he hadn’t been fully recovered from his first fight against the twins. He sighed.

“Time to change shifts.” Green-eyes looked down at him.

“This is the place we first fought 0010.” The teen commented, looking up at the sky. It seemed Harry was on the same train of thought as he was. “Before we knew about his brother. The twins who weren’t allowed to touch each other, or they would die. They reminded me of two of my schoolmates, to be honest.” Albert paused, he hadn’t expected that.

“Really?”

“Yeah, Fred and George Weasley. They were about two years older than me, and the older brothers of my best mate.” He could see the smile forming on Harry’s face, clearly thinking back to his school days (because he couldn’t go back to his old life, just like the rest of them. It was just too dangerous, when the Black Ghost was hunting them). “They were both red-heads and identical down to the last freckle, sometimes their own mum had trouble telling them apart. They always took advantage of that too pull pranks on pretty much everyone in school. Even getting a few of the teachers. I never had any siblings, older or younger, so those were the closest thing I had to older brothers. Living like 0010, it would have been like torture for them.” He sighed, his expression turning melancholy. “I almost tried to talk 0010 into joining us, because of how much they reminded me of those two. I could empathize with them, but they never gave me the chance. Some people, I guess you just can’t help them. Even if you wanted too…”

Albert could feel a lump in his throat. This was the first Harry had mentioned this, to any of them. This was the first-time Harry had opened up to him one his own, without being pressured into giving an answer for something. Just how hard had it been for him to fight Plus and Minus? Here he was feeling terrible about 0011, when this kid, _who wasn’t even half his age,_ had faced down something as painful as that.

“I guess… that just proves we’re still human. The fact that we can still care about others, yet still keep going. Right?” Harry smiled again.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” He agreed. The brit jolted suddenly, whipping around to face the distant sea. Albert followed his gaze, and saw the spinning shape of what looked to be 0011. But the cyborg’s eyes were red this time, instead of the electric blue he remembered. “Is that- 0011?!”

“That guy’s still alive?!” Albert breathed. That shouldn’t be possible, the internal damage should have been too much for him to survive.

“And he’s heading for the compound!”

“Scheisse! We have to warn the others!” Harry nodded, and disappeared from Albert’s sight. He pelted after the younger male, praying they would make it in time.

By the time he caught up with Harry, the teen was practically carrying 002 on his back on his back and as he dodged 0011’s attacks. All while cussing a blue streak in English, at least he was pretty sure the boy was cursing. His translator wasn’t letting him understand everything Harry was saying, but the tone was there (also what the heck was an Acromantula? It sounded like it was some kind of spider, but Albert had never heard of it before). He saw one of 0011’s legs lash out at 009’s unprotected side, sending the two cyborgs to the ground in an ungraceful heap. Only 002 pushed himself back up.

“009!” The American looked up at him.

“0011 clipped his head, he’s been knocked out! The poison must’ve started to slow him down!” Albert felt a jolt of panic rush through him.

“Poison?!”

“Yeah, the rain had a delayed-reaction poison in it! The doc said it would paralyze our bodies. And it won’t be much longer until we all succumb to it. You should have let me finish him when we had the chance before!” Albert gritted his teeth. This was bad, very bad. His eyes narrowed, he had to keep 0011 from the house. He could still remember his conversation with 009 earlier, it seemed he would have to take a leaf from Harry’s book and keep fighting even though he wanted to help 0011.

“Stop!” He fired on of his rockets, hoping to distract the large cyborg. He could the sparks of pain starting throughout his body. The poison was finally starting to affect him. He pushed through the pain and ran to the side and lead 0011 away from the house. “I said stop!”

0011 managed to knock him off his feet, and Albert felt a searing pain in his right hand. His built-in machine gun had been rendered useless.

“You don’t have to do this! Don’t let Black Ghost take your humanity from you! Think of your family, of your wife and daughter! You don’t have to be just another killing machine made by Black Ghost!” He shouted, praying he could reach the real 0011. The man who only wanted to see his family again, the man who just might listen to him.

“Don’t talk to me, traitor cyborg! I will silence you!” Multiple eyes opened, revealing the ray guns behind them. The silver haired man could feel his heart sinking, his chances of saving the others from the large cyborg had just vanished right in front of him. He was blasted into the rocks behind him.

“It won’t be long, Hilda. We’ll be together soon.” He whispered to himself, knowing his own chances of survival were near non-existent. He attempted to pull his blaster, to at least protect the others from 0011, only for his hand to fumble because of the poison running through his body. The pain was becoming over whelming. A glint of gold caught his eye, his wedding ring.

“You’re history, family man.” Albert stumbled to where his gun lay, he only had one shot at this. Gripping the chain in his teeth, he looped the tiny gold band around the trigger and clasped the gun between his barely responsive hands. Body shaking from effort, he aimed the weapon at 0011. He saw an eye open, and fired. The chain broke under the strain, and Albert fell back. But the blinding flash of light and explosion told him that his aim was true, 0011 had finally been defeated. Just before his vision went dark, he couldn’t help murmuring.

“Hilda, my love…” _You saved us._

.

~~~MAGICA~~CYBORG~~009~~

.

_This is starting to become a pattern._ Harry thought bitterly to himself, as he came around. He did not find the number of times he’d awoken in the med bay amusing. At all. And his headache wasn’t helping his mood. He sat up, rubbing his head as he looked around. The rest of the team (minus 003 and 001) were laid out on beds, groaning and tense as though they were in pain.

_What on earth happened while I was out? 0011 couldn’t have taken everyone out! Then again, 002 wasn’t looking too good when I last saw him…_

“What-? 009?!” He looked up at the use of his number to see Dr. Gilmore staring at him, looking utterly flabbergasted. “How are you up?! We haven’t got an antidote yet!”

“Antidote?” He repeated, feeling rather confused. “Did 0011 poison the others?”

“The rain, boy! The rain 0011 created was laced with poison! All of you were exposed too it!” The doctor practically shouted, his stress becoming rather obvious. Kozumi poked his head in, probably wondering what Gilmore was getting bent-out-of-shape over.

“Really? But feel fine…” He muttered, placing a hand over his chest. Was his magic filtering out the poison? Or was it suppressing the effects until his body could get rid of it? Now he wished Madame Pomfrey was there, this would be right up her ally. Professor Kozumi stepped in, his expression thoughtful.

“Young man, would you come here for a moment? I just thought of something that I would like to check on.” Harry blinked innocently at the man, and quietly agreed. The next room over had been converted into an emergency lab, with beakers, flasks, needles and bottles of various substances spread out on almost every available space. It reminded Harry of the few pictures he’d seen of chemistry labs. “Would you please sit down and roll up one of your sleeves?”

Harry nodded, rolling up his right sleeve. He heard 003 gasp in alarm, and wondered for a moment what was wrong. Then he remembered that his right arm had the scar from his second year (which, now that he thought about, probably looked like a cross between a chemical burn and being stabbed with a poison spear). He shifted uncomfortably in the seat, there was a reason he preferred to change when he was alone. And body shyness wasn’t it.

Kozumi carefully took his arm, taking a moment to examine the basilisk bite, before picking up a syringe and sticking it into Harry’s arm. Harry barely registered the pinch-like pain, as he watched Kozumi draw a strange, pale pink fluid from his arm (was that supposed to be his blood? He knew there was some kind of special fluid mixed in to run the cybernetic side of his body, but being told and actually seeing it were two different things).

He pressed the piece of gauze he was handed over the now bleeding spot on his arm (it would heal in a little bit), and watched the professor examine his blood.

“Ah-ha, just as I thought! That just might work!”

“What could work? What do you mean Kozumi?” Gilmore asked. The elderly man looked back at them.

“009’s blood has an extra enzyme in it, which is actually strong enough to combat the poison. I think it may be getting an extra charge from his powers, but it’s still able to destroy the poison he was exposed too. I think I may be able to re-create the enzyme and inject the others with it to help them.” Harry knew a few of the terms used by the Professor. Madame Pomfrey had a slight interest in muggle medicine, and studied the terms to make it easier to explain how her medicines worked to students from non-magical families. Harry watched the man for a few moments longer, then suck out his arm once more.

“If you think it’ll help Professor, then you can take as much as you need.” The man nodded, drew two more vials out to take blood with, and set too work. After the bloodwork was done, Harry was right alongside 003, fetching the materials the professor asked for (even if he didn’t always know what they actually _were._ Science never was a high priority at Hogwarts).

Though even he had to admit that Dr. Gilmore’s hovering was getting on his nerves.

“Will they really be alright? And if they are, will they still retain all their powers? 009’s abilities are still an unknown…” Harry very nearly scoffed at him. Of course his magic would work to help them, they were _his_ and he wanted to protect them. Intention was half the battle in magic and if he wanted it to help them, then it would. It was as simple as that.

“Relax, Gilmore, stop being so edgy. It’s distracting me from my work.” Kozumi said, peering into his microscope, which still had a sample of Harry’s blood in it.

“Terribly sorry, I’ll try to be quiet.” The Professor flagged down 003 and asked for a compound Harry had never heard of before.

“What relation do your cyborgs had to you?”

“What? What do you mean, Kozumi? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“You seem to care a lot about them,” the Professor commented. “I thought they were just an experiment to you.” Harry faltered in the task he’d been given, but forced himself back to work.

“What? This is no time for silly chatter. There are lives at stake. We’ve got to save them! I-I can’t bear the thought of losing any of them.” Gilmore said, his voice fading at the end. The wizard glanced over to the doctor, still holding the mixture Kozumi had asked him to make. The Professor let out a pleased hum as Harry handed it to him, and dropped it into one of the petri dishes.

“This is it! It’s done.” He said, sounding pleased. Standing up he looked back at the Doctor. “Whether you care to admit it or not, my friend, it sounds to me like these people have become your family. Having family is a gift. Nothing can take their place. And nothing feels better than being surrounded by them.” 

“I guess they are my family,” the doctor murmured. “Imagine that.”

“Young man, is there any way you can channel your power into the samples? I think the enzyme works best if they have just a little bit of a charge from it.” The teen nodded, taking the tray and carefully coaxing the energy from his core and pushing it into the mixture. It was a bit like adding magic to a potion, not that he thought about it. “Also, dear girl, I’m going to give you and 001 a small dose as well. You may not have been out in the rain, but you did come in contact with those who’d been poisoned. As they say, ‘better safe than sorry’ right?”  
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw the doctor look down at 001 in his arms.

“We’re family now, alright?”

_“As long as I don’t inherit your nose.”_ He stifled a laugh at that, but the words still echoed in his head.

Kozumi was quick to administer the antidote to everyone, and there would be a small wait as it took effect. Green eyes examined the group, until they spotted something at Albert’s bedside. His brow furrowed in confusion at the sight of the broken gold chain. Where had he seen it before?

_Isn’t that… The chain Albert had a ring hanging off of? Where did the ring go?_ The chain was broken, had it fallen while the older man was fighting? He patted the sleeve where his wand was hidden. _Maybe, I could look for it real quick? It’s not like they need me to stay here…_

.

~~~MAGICA~~CYBORG~~009~~

.

It was sunrise by the time the antidote finally took effect, much to Harry’s relief. With how long it was taking, he had started to think it wasn’t going to work. The others pulled themselves up, soft groans escaping them as the soreness left behind from the poison faded.

“What happened? Did I overdo the garlic?”

“Somehow, I feel refreshed now.” 008 commented. 005 gave his head a slight shake.

“That’s some medicine you gave us, Professor.” 007 said. “What was it?”

“A compound strong enough to destroy the venom. I found it in 009’s blood, once I realized the poison wasn’t affecting him. Which means you have _him_ to thank for your recovery.” Harry shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. Really, the Professor was giving him too much credit. He hadn’t even known his blood _could_ do that (though it did explain why the last time he could remember getting sick was back in second year. He usually credited Madame Pomfrey’s excellent care with his quick recoveries).

007 shook his head in disbelief.

“Once again, 009, you’ve saved our sorry necks. Where _would_ we be without you?” Harry gave a shy smile. Both the Professor and the Doctor were quick to yank the others from the room and run tests to ensure that they were all okay. He wandered over too Albert’s bedside, noting that the man now had the broken chain in his hands.

“Umm… Albert?” Grey eyes looked up at his own green ones. “I, well, I noticed your ring this morning, and saw that the chain’s broken since then, so, um, I went looking for it.” He pulled the small gold band from his pocket, it wasn’t the same as when he first saw it. Harry knew rings were supposed to be perfectly round and smooth, especially if they were engagement or wedding rings. But Al’s ring had since become bent, with a few tiny chips in the metal.

“It looks like it’s been bent a bit but, it’s important to you, right?” Albert very carefully took the ring from him, the man’s expression showing his relief.

“Yes 009, I- thank you. For returning it to me.” Harry couldn’t help it, he beamed at the older man.

_Dr. Gilmore said we were family now,_ Harry thought. He looked up at the idly bickering members of the team, a warmth settling in his chest. _I think, I can get used to be part of this family._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's Chapter 6. This actually took a really long time for me to write, I think it was getting out Harry's age that did it at the time. But all's-well that ends-well!
> 
> Here’s a refence for the ages of everyone;  
> ~001/Ivan is under a year old.  
> ~002/Jet is 18 years’ old  
> ~003/Francoise is 19 years’ old  
> ~004/Albert is 30 years’ old  
> ~005/Geronimo is 22 years’ old  
> ~006/Chang is 37 years’ old  
> ~007/Great Britain is 40 years’ old  
> ~008/Pyunma is the same age as Jet  
> ~Dr. Gilmore is 57 years’ old  
> ~and Harry is 15 (going on 16)
> 
> On a different note, did you know that everyone in Cyborg 009 also voiced a character in Digimon? I’m serious guys, 001 is voiced by Gomamon, 005 is voiced by Ogermon, 002 by Gabumon, and 009/Joe is voiced by Tai (and sometimes Ken). I want to see a picture about that, someone make me a picture about that!

**Author's Note:**

> And done! Here’s chapter one! I hope I did well on this… Please tell me if I’m wrong!  
> This story is my first attempt at writing anything Cyborg Soldier 009 related. Why a crossover? Because when I went looking for 009 fics, I was severely disappointed with how few crossovers there were (There was one for 009/HP on ff.net and the person had abandoned it at one chapter!). So I’ve decided to correct this myself! Maybe I’ll inspire others to do so! Maybe.  
> I’m hoping to later have a yaoi pairing in this, but the wrong one is evident in this chapter! Harry is supposed to be the fluffy kitten who needs lots of love and cuddles (but still has very painful claws!), yet the person who is the least likely to be all cuddly with him seems to be stealing his heart in just the first chapter!  
> My planned pairing was 004/AlbertXHarry (a kind of fatherly affection that turned romantic without the older intending it), but for some reason 002/Jet has decided HE wants to run away with Harry! I honestly have no idea why he wants Harry to be his uke (Maybe it’s from being 004/Albert’s for so many other stories?). I will try to mend this in later chapters, but maybe 002/Jet won’t let me. Harry is an adorable kitten after all, even when he gets all puffy and scratches you. I’ll have to find out.  
> Please favorite and leave a comment!  
> P.S. If anyone wants some ideas to use for their own crossover, I have tons that I wouldn’t mind tagging onto the end of the next chapter. Just tell me if you want to know and I’ll add them. Just credit me if you use them, and send me a link!


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